The Cacti series of 18 original mixed media works was inspired by a grey, rainy day at the Sydney Nolan Trust where David is a regular curator and artist in residence. A Cacti plant in the Trust’s lodgings reminded him of warmth and a celebration of things distant from the weather outside. Each image evokes a level of warmth and the exotic. David says ‘The Cacti genus are the newest plant forms on earth and no fossils exist. They are still evolving and all sorts of grafting and such like is possible. Some have flowers that only last half a day, and some come out at odd times. Rather like the act of collage and montage itself.’
Artist Biography
David Ferry
David Ferry was born in Blackpool in 1957 and studied Fine Art at Blackpool, Camberwell and the Slade. His first solo exhibition in London was at the First International Contemporary Art Fair in 1984 in the 'none aligned section' alongside Dubsky, Derek Jarman and other artists who did not fit conventionally into the established gallery scene at that time.
What is distinctive about David Ferry's new work is that he takes us back to the sights and sensations, smells and textures of an earlier modernist style, whilst retaining a sense of 'naughtiness', reminding us that art can be entertaining too. David is currently Head of Printmaking at the Cardiff School of Art & Design and a visiting lecturer at the Crawford College of Art and the Burren College of Art in Ireland - from where he has recently taken much inspiration. "The Burren is an area where wonderful visual alignments and natural synergies mingle with human cross-references; there exists a complex grid plan, akin to any city environment".