ANTHONY DALEY - IRREALITY

The award-winning abstract-expressionist painter Anthony Daley is a man whose entire career has been defined by the pursuit of beauty, producing works of phosphorescent transcendence that tip a nod the painterly genius of the Old Masters while, simultaneously, communicating something vital and contemporary. Since graduation from the Chelsea College of Arts in the early 80s, the artist has become increasingly celebrated for his captivating ability to seamlessly blend vibrant colours in an explosive and overwhelming fugue, presenting otherworldly meditations that provide a unique portal to the infinite, and engaging the viewer in a compelling dialogue between tradition and the dynamic aspects of modernity.

“ At some stage in life, I learned that in the process of painting, the paintingwill then begin to paint you. It will take over, and, for me, that's the magical moment when it starts speaking back. In that moment, I think: ‘Who am I speaking to? Am I speaking to Rembrandt? Am I speaking to Einstein? Am I speaking to God?’ And, you know, really I am speaking to the infinite.”

His upcoming solo show ‘Irreality” with Varvara Roza Galleries is no exception. Following on from his hugely successful show “Son of Rubens” at Dulwich Picture Gallery, the title refers to that state of being perhaps best described as daydreaming or reverie – an abstract inner landscape given to the construction of ideas that have little to do with corporeal reality.It’s a space the artist has loved to inhabit since his early childhood in Jamaica, being fascinated by mathematics and cosmology from a very early age, and seeing beauty in everything around him – from a Newtonian equation, to the phenomenology of a falling leaf. As such, he draws his inspiration from a diverse array of sources, ranging from classical literature, quantum physics, poetry and the serene beauty of natural phenomena, and feeds all of these influences into works that evoke the sublime, where mesmeric fields of colour are punctuated with iridescent flashes of light.

“Art is a celebration. It's a revelation. It's a joy. It's a muckraking celebration of humanity. Van Gogh once said that one day painting would just be about colour, and I think that’s about freedom. It’s the freedom to explore and go into the unknown, and, you know, I think my paintings have that sense of play” – AnthonyDaley

The chief concern for Daley as an artist is truly the activation of wonder, and the passionate works in “Irreality” invite the viewer to join him in a profound andmeditative celebration of being and manifestation. As such, the artist taps not only into what he refers to as the pan-cultural universal language of art, but also the limitless possibilities of unfettered creativity.