Website: davidabse.com
Instagram: davidabse
Facebook: davidabse.art
Other: @davidabse
I paint, I draw, I print. I change. I do different things. I am interested in so many things, visual, political, historical, irrelevant. Much of my work has focused on identity- I am father, I am son, I am husband, I am friend, I am worker, I am painter, I am .... the list goes on. I am Jew, I am disabled, I am Londoner, I am French, I am Welsh. We all define ourselves, and yet let others define and label us. My recent work focuses on this and on the three main things in my life: love, death and pain. Sometimes my work can be dark.
Born December 1958 in London.
Despite David's father's determination that David should get a "proper job", David went to Art school in Wolverhampton, and worked for many years in the voluntary sector in the UK - including several years as a union representative, and more years as CEO of Islington.
Ten years ago David moved to France, and returned to painting, drawing and printmaking full time. Plus a bit of writing. David used to write for L’Artiste magazine before it went bust (not his fault!) and writes a fascinating blog (when he can get round to it!).
David now lives with his family and cats and dog in a small house in the beautiful village of Bize-Minervois in the Aude. He still thinks of himself as half English, half Welsh, half Jewish and as a Londoner too. Oh yes, and a lot French. It is no surprise then that many of David's paintings focus on issues of identity.
David unfortunately puts up with various disabilities, including suffering from Parsonage Turner syndrome, an obscure incurable auto-immune disease. As a result his style has changed in recent times, and he has more recently been concentrating on producing smaller oil paintings rather than the large expressive abstyracts he produced for many years.
Exhibitions:
Collections:
Francis Kyle Gallery, London (1984-1990)
Publications:
June/July 2011 and August 2013 edition of L’Artiste magazine.
June 2011: Artist of the month at LondonArt
Illustrations:
David's work has appeared in numerous magazines, on posters and book covers. He has illustrated a number of books and articles. Publishers include Robson Books, Poetry Wales, the Jewish Chronicle, the Hérault Times, Hutchinson, the Thin Blue Line, Rapport, Lauderdale House, the Felix Gluck Press and others. Most recently (October 2017) david provided the illustrations for Alaskan Lonely Hearts Club: And Other Unlikely Travel Tales
Also, David is the creator of Purple Cat .
Writing:
As well as writing his blog, David has written for a number of magazines in the UK and France.