Skip to content
David Risley (b. 1972) is an artist, writer and curator. Risley was educated at the Bath School of Art in England. For 20 years he ran the David Risley gallery and did not make art. In Risley’s own words,
“I spent my time with artists, curators, writers – looking, listening, learning. I had presumed that subject matter drives meaning; that the content of a work leads us to its meaning. The more I learned, the less true this appeared to be. My favourite artists, Chardin, Morandi, Neel, Katz, Hammershøi, made paintings almost devoid of content but heavy with meaning. They painted family and friends, the things on their table, everyday life. Contrary to logic, the lack of overt subject matter in these paintings produced the most meaning. I began making watercolour paintings of the things I care about, things I love: family, friends, my surroundings. I remain hopeful that meaning can find its way into these paintings. I am interested in the ontological realm of painting, where and when is the painting happening?”
Risley’s works, Head Store (2021) (oil on linen, artist’s frame, magnetite) and Einer, Tomb of the Diver (2023) (watercolours on silk) are represented at Augustenborg Collection.