William Davie
William Davie is a writer based in London.
Dark Laughter
By William DavieIn Barry Schwabsky’s Dark Laughter, Genesis Belanger’s witty sculpture The Options Are Slim, 2019, a facsimile of a plug socket with a kitchen knife jabbed into it, elicits a sardonic laugh no matter how close or far away you stand from it. However, by reducing this and other works by Belanger, Emily Mae Smith, Ellen Berkenblit and June Leaf through an all-too-familiar press release about each artist’s idiosyncratic tact in a world gone haywire—in which their dark sense of humour quietly rebels against a status quo—the individual prowess of each practice is short-changed.
The Aerodrome
By William DavieBefore Ikon Galley’s exhibition The Aerodrome—An exhibition dedicated to the memory of Michael Stanley, Stanley’s contributions to the British arts scene were often spoken of in contemplative tones as a result of his suicide at the age of 37.
Carol Rhodes
By William DavieComprising domestic-scale, oil-on-board paintings and pencil drawings, this tight, brief overview acts as an appetizer before her first posthumous survey scheduled to take place at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum
Roderic O’Conor and the Moderns. Between Paris and Pont-Aven
By William DavieIf curators Jonathan Benington and Brendan Rooney are right and it is time for a re-evaluation of Roderic O’Conor’s oeuvre, then the case they put forward in Roderic O’Conor and the Moderns: Between Paris and Pont-Aven, on view at the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin, is certainly a captivating one–but not entirely without its pitfalls.
Caroline Coon: The Great Offender
By William DavieAny initial humor found in the absurdity of these two hyper-sexualized scenes, perhaps especially for straight male audiences, quickly gives way to uneasiness and introspection, resulting in a sudden and powerful realization that the only way systematic change can begin is from within the viewer.
Paula Rego
By William DaviePaula Rego is one of the finest, most idiosyncratic artists of her generation.
PETER DOIG
By William DavieThe uniquely compelling factor, which keeps the viewer in front of the works, is their lack of answers. In these paintings, more so than in any previous body of work, Doig directs the oneiric overtones from the present rather than from memory.
