Skip to main content
Image shows a hanging yellow artwork to the right, which is strung from the ceiling and consists of flat concentric rings. To the left we can see many small works of art ranging in bright colours which are hung in a grid on the white wall. To the corner of the gallery, in the centre of the image, is a small dark window allowing a view to the adjacent gallery.

David Austen

Underworld

23 March - 9 June 2019

This exhibition offered up a new constellation of work by British artist David Austen, bringing the breadth of his artistic practice to audiences in Scotland for the first time.

Image shows two small paintings hung next to each other on a white wall. They share a similar pallet, being mainly sky blue. The image to the right shows the back of a person's head, they have long blonde hair and we can see the tops of the shoulders, as two pink crescents at the bottom of the painting. The painting is graphic in style, with black outlines and lines depicting the strands of har. The painting to the left shows cloud forms, in a cartoonish style, similarly with black outlines and block colours.

Since the 1980s Austen has worked as a painter, sculptor, printmaker and filmmaker. The stylistically diverse elements of his work come together to reveal an often dark yet endearing vision of the world. The artworks in this exhibition, from oil paintings on heavy flax canvas and delicate watercolour works on paper to suspended sculptural objects and cinematic film projects, created an otherworldly space inhabited by Austen’s strange and lovelorn characters.

The image shows two paintings hung on a white wall next to each other. They are square. The painting to the left has a black background and pale grey text in block capital lettters reads on one line 'Under' and on the second line 'World'. The painting to the right has a sky blue background and shows a pale skinned naked person leaning over.

With sources as varied as 19th century literature, poetry, ancient myth and film noir, the impetus of Austen’s work often derives from his immediate surroundings. There is a liveliness and generosity in his approach to art-making, a delicacy of touch, a delight in the unexpected, and a disarmingly nuanced understanding of complex human emotions. Each object and artwork in this project stood alone and spoke for itself yet simultaneously connected with others in the spaces, forming multiple narratives across the galleries.

Underworld sought to create a mythical space for viewers to journey through, punctuated by the artist’s poetic musings on the known world, the imagined world, the bright celestial heights above us and the shadowy, unknowable depths below.

Photograph shows two paintings on a white wall. One is mainly red, to the right, and one is mainly green, to the left.

About the artist

David Austen (b.1960 Harlow) is an artist based in London. A graduate of the Royal College of Art (1985), he has exhibited widely over the past 30 years.

Solo exhibitions include: The Drowned, Matt’s Gallery, London (2018); The stars above the ocean... the ocean beneath the stars, David Totah Gallery, New York (2018); Black Heart, Museo d’Arte Contemporanea di Cogliandrino, Basilicata; End of Love, Modern Art Oxford (2010); and My love, I have been digging up my own bones in the garden again, Ingleby Gallery, Edinburgh (2009). His work has been featured in major international group projects and is held in collections such as Tate, British Council, Arts Council England and the Government Art Collection.

He is represented by Ingleby Gallery, Edinburgh.

David Austen: Exhibition Notes

Click here to download the Exhibition Notes for David Austen: Underworld
Download
1.2 MB (PDF)

Artist Interview | David Austen on Underworld

Exhibition images

Image shows the outside of DCA gallery, taken from the concourse looking towards the entrance. Text above the doorway reads David Austen: Underworld in black block capitals.
Photograph by Ruth Clark.
Image shows a brightly lit gallery two. We are looking along a wall to the right at a sharp angle, so we can see two paintings going off into the distance towards a corridor into gallery 1. The first painting is red and the second is green. Across the floorspace, to the left on the back wall we can see another artwork, which is also rectangular, but black.
Photograph by Ruth Clark.
Photograph shows a wide view of gallery two from the doorway to the concourse. There is natural light, white walls and grey floor. A small boxy room has been built in the centre of the gallery, at the centre of the image. Colourful artworks are on the walls and towards the left of the image, from the ceiling hangs a white artwork made of concentric flat rings.
Photograph by Ruth Clark.
Image shows a hanging yellow artwork to the right, which is strung from the ceiling and consists of flat concentric rings. To the left we can see many small works of art ranging in bright colours which are hung in a grid on the white wall. To the corner of the gallery, in the centre of the image, is a small dark window allowing a view to the adjacent gallery.
Photograph by Ruth Clark.
A small dark room has a moving image artwork in it. The film still shows a black and white image of a person's mouth and nose. They have makeup like a clown, with a white face and exaggerated smile.
Photograph by Ruth Clark.
Image shows the interior of DCA's foyer, facing towards the gallery entrance from the top of the stairs. We can see the title of the exhibition above the entrance to the gallery, and on the left hang three suspended artworks which are white and consist of concentric flat rings. Down the stairs we can see visitors to the cafe bar sitting at chairs and tables.
Photograph by Ruth Clark.
Image shows a brightly lit gallery with natural light, white walls and grey floor. On the walls to the left and right are colourful 2d artworks. To the right, these are small and arranged in a grid. To the left there is one work composed of many small squares.
Photograph by Ruth Clark.
Image shows the outside of DCA gallery, taken from the concourse looking towards the entrance. Text above the doorway reads David Austen: Underworld in black block capitals.
Photograph by Ruth Clark.
Image shows a brightly lit gallery two. We are looking along a wall to the right at a sharp angle, so we can see two paintings going off into the distance towards a corridor into gallery 1. The first painting is red and the second is green. Across the floorspace, to the left on the back wall we can see another artwork, which is also rectangular, but black.
Photograph by Ruth Clark.
Photograph shows a wide view of gallery two from the doorway to the concourse. There is natural light, white walls and grey floor. A small boxy room has been built in the centre of the gallery, at the centre of the image. Colourful artworks are on the walls and towards the left of the image, from the ceiling hangs a white artwork made of concentric flat rings.
Photograph by Ruth Clark.
Image shows a hanging yellow artwork to the right, which is strung from the ceiling and consists of flat concentric rings. To the left we can see many small works of art ranging in bright colours which are hung in a grid on the white wall. To the corner of the gallery, in the centre of the image, is a small dark window allowing a view to the adjacent gallery.
Photograph by Ruth Clark.
A small dark room has a moving image artwork in it. The film still shows a black and white image of a person's mouth and nose. They have makeup like a clown, with a white face and exaggerated smile.
Photograph by Ruth Clark.
Image shows the interior of DCA's foyer, facing towards the gallery entrance from the top of the stairs. We can see the title of the exhibition above the entrance to the gallery, and on the left hang three suspended artworks which are white and consist of concentric flat rings. Down the stairs we can see visitors to the cafe bar sitting at chairs and tables.
Photograph by Ruth Clark.
Image shows a brightly lit gallery with natural light, white walls and grey floor. On the walls to the left and right are colourful 2d artworks. To the right, these are small and arranged in a grid. To the left there is one work composed of many small squares.
Photograph by Ruth Clark.
Image shows the outside of DCA gallery, taken from the concourse looking towards the entrance. Text above the doorway reads David Austen: Underworld in black block capitals.
Photograph by Ruth Clark.
Image shows a brightly lit gallery two. We are looking along a wall to the right at a sharp angle, so we can see two paintings going off into the distance towards a corridor into gallery 1. The first painting is red and the second is green. Across the floorspace, to the left on the back wall we can see another artwork, which is also rectangular, but black.
Photograph by Ruth Clark.
Photograph shows a wide view of gallery two from the doorway to the concourse. There is natural light, white walls and grey floor. A small boxy room has been built in the centre of the gallery, at the centre of the image. Colourful artworks are on the walls and towards the left of the image, from the ceiling hangs a white artwork made of concentric flat rings.
Photograph by Ruth Clark.
Image shows a hanging yellow artwork to the right, which is strung from the ceiling and consists of flat concentric rings. To the left we can see many small works of art ranging in bright colours which are hung in a grid on the white wall. To the corner of the gallery, in the centre of the image, is a small dark window allowing a view to the adjacent gallery.
Photograph by Ruth Clark.
A small dark room has a moving image artwork in it. The film still shows a black and white image of a person's mouth and nose. They have makeup like a clown, with a white face and exaggerated smile.
Photograph by Ruth Clark.
Image shows the interior of DCA's foyer, facing towards the gallery entrance from the top of the stairs. We can see the title of the exhibition above the entrance to the gallery, and on the left hang three suspended artworks which are white and consist of concentric flat rings. Down the stairs we can see visitors to the cafe bar sitting at chairs and tables.
Photograph by Ruth Clark.
Image shows a brightly lit gallery with natural light, white walls and grey floor. On the walls to the left and right are colourful 2d artworks. To the right, these are small and arranged in a grid. To the left there is one work composed of many small squares.
Photograph by Ruth Clark.