David Collins: Brevity

"One has to work very carefully with what is between the words, what is not said. Which is measure, which is rhythm and so on.

So, it is what you don’t write that frequently gives what you do write its power."

Taking these words from Toni Morrison as an exploration, Collins admits that 'brevity' is a quality that interests him immensely and one that he pursues regularly in his work.

He says that, "it can be a slow process of paint application and removal where minimal information may remain, allowing the viewer plenty of room for their own interpretation.

For me, it’s akin to music composition, where the silences between notes are as integral to the piece as the notes themselves."

This quest for distillation, space, and air in a painting has to be worked at and it’s often in the pairing back that these qualities are revealed. David Collins' work in this collection does just that.

It is a true meditation of stillness and composition.