Tonight's queer artist feature is Gavin Dobson
Gavin Dobson
I am a London based artist specialising in painting. Graduating in Fine Art, I have been building my profile and portfolio as an artist specialising in painting and screen printing - often combining the two, which helps communicate my chosen narrative.
Story telling is very important within my work. I am fascinated by unearthing new stories and situations to take into my painting, alongside creating imagery from narratives throughout my own life. I tend to keep my paintings loose and expressive, using fluid movements and textures to create engaging and lively pieces whilst thoughtfully leading the viewer to a chosen narrative. I rarely know what a painting will look like until I begin the process. Often I have used the canvas previously as a palette to create marks and mix colours unconsciously before it is used as the beginnings of a piece itself. This helps me keep the painting fresh and I especially enjoy finding the visuals often from the marks which were created without thought.
In recent years, I have found my practice organically moving towards examining homosexuality, looking into the various subcultures which are still prevalent such as cruising and the secret codes and behaviours surround it, as well as the expectations and stereotypes which gay men in particular face and how in turn this can effect ones mental health both for the good and the bad.
From the fantasy to the everyday, Queer culture exists beyond a week at Pride and we have a proud and sadly unearthed history and this is something I am looking forward to expose within forthcoming artworks.
Gavin Dobson
The Art of Being Queer
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