Artist David Venables reflects on his life and work in a new exhibition at the Mining Art Gallery in Bishop Auckland, County Durham.
As he approaches the age of 80, David Venables: Hewing Out the Image brings together artworks which span seven decades – from an etching made aged 16 to the three new pieces that form the centrepiece of this exhibition.
David has also created an inviting installation within the galleries, offering a glimpse into his studio, where sketches and notes can be found across the walls.
This exhibition is about people, and about family. The paintings document David’s recollections of childhood, and memories of life in the northern mining communities of the 40s and 50s. The subjects of the paintings are, as the artist himself calls them, “my people”.
Though not a coal miner himself, David was born in Haltwhistle, Northumberland, to a family of miners and grew up within tight-knit mining communities in the North East at a time when opportunities above ground were extremely limited for young working class men.
However, his artistic talents offered him an opportunity he seized with both hands at the age of 14 when he enrolled at Doncaster Arts School.
From there he would go to the Central School of Art and Design in London, but although he would become a painter rather than a hewer, carter or putter like his forebears, his familial roots in the pits bore a permanent influence on his life’s work.
Indeed coal is a key part of David’s work in more ways than one – the black pigment he uses in his paintings is made by the artist himself from ground lumps of coal, meaning his work has both a physical and an emotional link to his heritage.
The exhibition’s title piece is a direct homage to the life he might have led, painted in black and presented in a frame with the same dimensions as the cramped and claustrophobic spaces miners were often expected to work in at the coal face.
There are also scenes of domestic life, children playing in the streets, keeping pigeons, and allotments filled with vegetables and chrysanthemums.
Describing the exhibition, David said: “As a child from a working class mining background my life has been that of a journeyman artist whose natural skill has been honed through experience, and that skill and experience has given me the opportunity through the Mining Art Gallery to share with you a little of my work.
“There are memories and images in our life that will conjure up infant, teenager, working, married life and beyond that will give meaning to our endeavours in life. I hope this exhibition will touch those moments.
“Hewing out the Image is a tribute to my family of hewers, drawers, putters; men, women and children and all those who gave their lives to ensure a better life for all in the future.”
The Auckland Project’s Mining Art Gallery, which explores the art, culture, and context of the mining industry and its place in the history of County Durham, is a natural fit for David’s work, and although this is his first exhibition at the venue, the gallery is proud to have two of his paintings Pit Brow Lasses and Miners‘ Wives as part of its permanent collection.
Head of Exhibitions at The Auckland Project, Clare Baron, said: “We are excited and honoured to host to this exhibition. David is an artist we greatly admire, and his work embodies everything the Mining Art Gallery was created to showcase and celebrate.
“The exhibition will explore not just his work and passion, but also his methods and creative spaces.
“We have worked with David to recreate his workbenches and his studio in a new installation which incorporates the three new pieces, so visitors can gain a unique insight into how he creates his art, from the initial sketches to the completed paintings.”
Bishop Auckland's local community newspaper.
