STAIRWAYS and steps are a central motif of Andrew Davey’s work, which is being exhibited at The Brewhouse Theatre and Arts Centre in Taunton until February 23.

The artist has experimented with the symbolic value of ladders in small drawings before, using them as a metaphor, but has recently become more interested in the subject matter.

In this new body of work called Work:Surface Andrew evidences the making of the work, its construction and materiality and the use of rule and gesture.
He said: “The work is often initiated by working over a pre-existing image, a previous drawing, a copy or a picture found.

“The work is layered and previous states remain partially visible. Often the image that is pursued emerges from an accident of texture, by resist, by rubbing or scribble or by the paint having been dragged or slurred.

“The repetitive losing and retrieving of forms in the layers becomes a search for the ambiguous territory between presence and absence.”

Andrew Davey will give a free gallery talk about his work on Wednesday, February 6 at 6pm.