Manchester-born artist David McGrath graduated with a First from the Art Academy London, in 2018. The work on show on the Gallery page generally dates from Lockdown in 2020.

The linocuts exploit the appeal of fluorescent inks overlaid with black to achieve a neon-like glow. Because of his interest in languages and writing, David likes to offset images with text, and place antique Natural History images and scripts from 18/19th century against a modern illuminated medium.

Also available to look at are previous linocuts from a series entitled “Amsterdam”. David takes inspiration from an array of sources: Hungarian photographer Brassaï’s graffiti of 1930s Paris; pitiless Weimar artist Otto Dix; 60s Horror Film posters, and many others. These are then melded with the lyrics of songwriter Jacques Brel’s epic shanty “Amsterdam”: a tribute to the tragi-heroic exploits of sailors carousing in bars and fleshpots while momentarily ashore from the loneliness and isolation of their langueurs océanes. The images here chart the desperation of their gluttony, drunkenness and lechery amid the neon allure of red-light zones. (See Jacques Brel at: Jacques Brel - Amsterdam (Live officiel Les Adieux à l’Olympia 1966) ).

David’s background is in Romance Languages, (he has a doctorate in Spanish) and he was previously a teacher/translator/academic writer, before turning to Art. He is based in Bedfordshire.