bio
Dan Baldwin
Baldwin’s work has a sinister yet beautiful feel to it and deals with topics such as Vanitas, politics, religion and innocence. He incorporates graphic symbolism with pop elements to illustrate the fragile line between good versus evil. In throwing together opposing elements, he creates a poetic, chaotic and conflicting juxtaposition of life and death. His use of colour, in particular the candy pastel shades, is inspired from the Mexican death celebrations, ‘El dia de los Muertos’.
His recent work incorporates real butterflies, bullets, war medals, US dollars, Iraqi dina and burning flags set upon an ethereal spray paint background with clean graphic hand painted elements. He comments, “My work has always been about the fine line between the sinister and the beautiful. By presenting opposing elements I create a landscape of contradiction and suggestion. Vanitas made a lot of sense to me, when I discovered it, its use of symbolism was a reference to our mortality, the gun, the flower, the fly, the skull, etc – all referred to death being omni present.”
Baldwin’s ceramic vases and tea sets are an integral part of Apocalypse WOW and represent the more fucked up spontaneous side of his work. He comments, “Doodles are something I’ve done all my life. In 1996, I started ‘EVIL N SICK N NEED HELP’ which was a small book, which compiled my favourite doodles from thousands, I did 8 volumes!” He explores the contrast between a beautiful fired and glazed ceramic vase papered with provactive graphics such as skeletal birds on crucifixes, Adolf Hitler, teddy bears, crippled war heroes and hanging donkeys.
Baldwin has exhibited widely across the UK and Europe over the last 10 years and has appeared alongside artists such as Tracey Emin, Julian Opie, Jamie Reid, Vic Reeves, Peter Blake, Matisse and Billy Childish. He has recently shown in Paris and Cologne Dan Baldwin graduated with an award for excellence from Maidstone School of Art in 1995 and was subsequently offered a one year studio associate position, which involved tutorials and teaching.
His work has featured in magazines such as Elle, Living Etc, Dazed and Confused, I.D. & Modern painters.