Ian Davenport

Ian Davenport is celebrated for his abstract paintings. Recently, his art has focused on poured lines of acrylic paint down surfaces, forming puddles at the base. This method enables him to investigate intricate combinations of line and color. In the last decade, Davenport has expanded his artistic endeavors to include screenprinting and etching, thereby enriching his portfolio with a notable collection of graphic works.

Biography of Ian Davenport

Ian Davenport was born in 1966 in Kent, England. He studied art at Northwich College of Art and Design in Cheshire and later graduated from Goldsmiths College in 1988. That same year, he exhibited at the Freeze exhibition at Surrey Docks, organized by Damien Hirst.

In 1990, Davenport held his first solo show at Waddington Galleries and was featured in the British Art Show. He received a nomination for the Turner Prize in 1991.

In 1999, he presented a solo exhibition at Dundee Contemporary Arts[6] and won a prize at the John Moores exhibition 21 in Liverpool.

For the "Days Like These" exhibition at Tate Britain in 2003, he created a thirteen-meter-high mural using a syringe to drip lines of paint in various colors down the wall. His most expansive exhibition up to that point took place at Ikon Gallery in Birmingham in 2004.

In 2017, he was commissioned to create a pavilion for the 57th Venice Biennale by Swatch and designed a limited edition watch. Recently, Davenport has also hand-painted a series of porcelain plates in partnership with Meissen and crafted a special edition bag for Christian Dior.

His recent solo exhibitions include "Signal" at Custot Gallery in Dubai (2023), "Crazy" at Chiostro del Bramante in Rome (2022), "Ian Davenport" at Galerie Boisserée in Cologne (2022), "Colour Explosion" at Galerie Haas & Gschwandtner in Salzburg (2021), "The Interaction of Colour" at Cristea Roberts Gallery in London (2019), and many more. 

Currently, Ian Davenport lives and works in London, UK.