Introduction -
David Milne - The Spiritualisation of Matter
160 Johnston St Fitzroy
With an exceptional understanding of colour, line and shape that has been developed and refined over his near 50 years as an artist, the symbols and patterns that David Milne places into his meticulous work combine to reflect his artistic background as a Modernist with an acute awareness and sensibility to the trends and aesthetics of Contemporary painting.
Milne’s approach is bold and striking at first glance, invariably complex and intricate upon further inspection, calming and measured when time is spent with his careful and considered hard edge abstractions, yet in essence Milne’s numinous compositions go beyond the painted surface. Part riddle and part ‘The Spiritualisation of Matter’ his coded visual language offers us access to longer arcs of time and more metaphysical notions of our sense of place via visual cues that have been used in Western and Eastern Art over centuries.
Drawing on his knowledge of alchemy, and particular interest in engravings of the Seventeenth Century, Milne’s multi-layered yet clear compositions are infused with historical iconography as well as elementary symbols. Designed around meditative inflection Milne allows us to see and engage with an artist who’s work is created for our aesthetic enjoyment without a need for excessive elaboration even though a more complicated subtext is present for those wanting to discover the rationale and musings that underpin his highly sophisticated ethereal tomes.
Milne has had significant commercial success over four decades of exhibiting with sell out exhibitions in the 1980s and 2000s either side of his successful career working in advertising for Saatchi & Saatchi as their National Creative Director in the 1990s. Creating some of his best and most important work to date, and through formal presentation and representation, Milne continues to accrue credence and recognition for his unique compositions, mark making and his approach to his artistic practice that he has been dedicated to throughout his life.
