Ian Davenport

The first exhibition of editions by British artist, Ian Davenport, opens at the Alan Cristea Gallery on 13 September 2006. Timed to coincide with the launch of Davenport's first major public art commission on Southwark Bridge, the exhibition includes all of his prints to date and a brand new set of three etchings entitled Etched Lines. 

Davenport is primarily known for his exploration into the nature of materials and colour. For his first set of prints, the Oval series (2002), he developed a technique of working on glass from which silkscreens could be made.

Colour is a fundamental element to the artist's work and the Six Ovals series investigates colour and surface qualities which create subtle three-dimensional effects. Through the patient building of layers of inks the lines in the two groups of screen prints seem bulge, fizz and compress and the colours play with the density and transparency inherent in this material.

At almost 50 metres long and three metres high, Davenport's recent commission, will be one of the largest permanent public artworks in London. Made using vitreous enamel and using a palette of hundreds of colours it is located on one of two railway bridges that cross Southwark Street, near to Tate Modern, it will be unveiled on 6 September.   

Ian Davenport studied at Goldsmith's College in London, one of the now fabled generation of artists who graduated from there in the late 1980's. He took part in the celebrated 1988 exhibition Freeze, curated by Damien Hirst. In 1991 he was nominated for the Turner Prize and since then has exhibited extensively across the world. 

The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue.