Throughout his career, John Davies has focused on the human head and figure, using a variety of different media. Of his early figures, often cast from life and clothed, he has said, ‘I wanted to make a figure, not like a piece of sculpture, more like a person… I wanted my sculpture to be more like life in the street’.
To create his more recent works, Davies models in clay before casting in polychrome polyester and fibreglass, or bronze, arranging his figures in carefully choreographed relationships. Animals and inanimate objects such as houses also appear, in works whose thematic concerns are always with human experience.
Young Man’s Head (1968) – Resin, fibreglass and mixed media; 38 x 16.5 x 24.5 cm. Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Collection, University of East Anglia.
Two Standing Figures (1969) – Fibreglass, polyurethane and paint; 185 x 57 x 29 cm each. Collection of the artist.
Young Man (1969-71) – Painted polyester, fibreglass and mixed media; 180.5 x 51 x 28 cm.
Tate, London.
For the Last Time (1972) – Resin, fibreglass, paint and mixed media; life size.
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh
William Jeffrey with Device (1972) – Painted polyester resin, fibreglass, wire, beads and steel; 30.5 x 20.3 x 39.4 cm.
Tate, London.
Orchard Man (1974) – Resin, fibreglass, paint and mixed media; 274.5 cm high.
Private collection, New York.
Head with Device (ca. 1975) – Resin, fibreglass, paint and mixed media; 47 x 49 x 24 cm. Collection of the artist.
Harvest (1980-84, reconstructed 2003) – Polyester resin, paint and mixed media; 58 x 108 x 30 cm. Collection of the artist.
Flemish Head (1991) – Polyester resin and paint; 35 cm high. Marlborough Fine Art, London.
Man Looking at the Sun (1993-2003) – Painted resin and wood; 29.5 x 44 x 10 cm. IVAM Institut Valencià d’Art Modern, Generalitat Valenciana.
Consolations (Garden Man, Bird, Dog and Tortoise) (1994-97) – Resin, fibreglass and paint; 185 cm high. Marlborough Fine Art, London.
Head of Louisa (1997-98) – Painted fibreglass; 30 cm high. Marlborough Fine Art, London.
Death’s Head 1 (1998) – Painted polyester resin, artificial flowers and metal base; 186 x 50 x 50 cm. IVAM Institut Valencià d’Art Modern, Generalitat Valenciana.
Numbered Head (2001) – Painted fibreglass and resin; 39.3 x 24 x 30.5 cm. Marlborough Fine Art, London.
For Those Wounded in Love (1998-2003) – Painted fibreglass and wood; 243.8 x 121.9 x 63.5 cm. Collection of the artist.
Family Ghosts Dancing (1999-2003) – Fibreglass and paint; 196.8 cm high. IVAM Institut Valencià d’Art Modern, Generalitat Valenciana.
Wounded in Love (2003) – Fibreglass and paint; 194.3 cm high. Collection of the artist.
Scarecrow (2012) – Bronze, enamel paint; 84 x 38 x 45 cm. Collection of the artist.
Scarecrow (2012) – Fibreglass and string; 190 cm high. Collection of the artist.
Burnt House Figures (2012-2016) – Fibreglass, paint and mixed media; figures 190 cm high. Collection of the artist.
Dr D on Horseback (2015-2017) – Painted resin, wood and mixed media; 82 x 41 x 18 cm. Collection of the artist.
My Ghosts (detail) (2007-2017) – Fibreglass, paint and mixed media; base 489 x 122 cm, ca. 250 cm high. Collection of the artist.