The majority of the works by contemporary painter Diarmuid Kelley (b. 1975), which range in price from £26,000-55,000, have now either been bought or reserved. The exhibition, Akzidenz-Grotesk, includes 12 new paintings featuring studies of interiors and figures and is the seventh dedicated show the gallery has held for the Stirling-born artist.
Kelley is the youngest winner of the NatWest Art Prize and has received commissions in the past from the Duchess of Cornwall and the Duke of Devonshire. His figurative style draws on historic pictures by artists such as Caravaggio and William Nicholson.
Kelley says he also takes inspiration from the works of Lucian Freud: “I was inclined to think that in Freud’s work the studio itself becomes a third chapter in his portraits – as important as the carefully arranged, stage-like interiors of Francesca Woodman’s photographs.”
"People do continue to take pleasure in figurative painting and there will always be an appreciation for the craft and magic of figurative art. It is why many people are first attracted to great artists like Hockney and Freud," says the gallery's Rebecca Beach. "In a contemporary context it’s only the artists who reach beyond mere skilfulness or style who truly resonate in the collective imagination".
The exhibition runs until May 16.
Offer Waterman, which specialises in 20th century and contemporary art, is among those galleries exhibiting at the inaugural TEFAF New York Spring next week.
