Verne Dawson

In Verne Dawson’s paintings the ways in which we mark time, invent stories and symbols, and regard the governing structures and belief systems of our lives are caught up in a playful entanglement of narratives that includes the story of painting itself. His work expresses a long-held interest in charting the continuities of human nature and culture and the perpetuation of methods of timekeeping through oral and visual traditions.

Delving into popular culture his paintings often explore mathematical and astronomical signs in folklore, calendars and astrology. Despite a preoccupation with symbolic reference, Dawson’s visual language does not attempt to idealise his subject matter. Rather, his painting style is grounded in the vernacular, offering careful consideration of narrative through composition and detail. 

In his work, time collapses as past, present and future are represented in paintings that obey a non-linear chronology; often they stand simultaneously as a visualising of the past and as a perception of the present from an imagined future, where the natural and man-made retain a more balanced co-existence. Characteristically, his works present an exploration of the continuities of nature and civilisation, and a belief in the enduring vitality of beauty and painting as a primary form of visceral and visual communication.