David Cass – works from Biennale 2022
We are thrilled that David Cass has made 12 works from his show in Venice available to Tatha Gallery.
Artist Statement
During the opening months of this year’s Venice Biennale, I exhibited a small solo exhibition called ‘Where Once the Waters’. The exhibition featured only two installation artworks: one was a wall of 600 typed letters, explaining changes in sea levels around the world; the other was a wall of 365 paintings of sea upon antique tins, each with a horizon at a different level, worked on across three years or more, but presented as the portrait of one single year of sea. Perhaps, a future record-breaking year, as our oceans warm and rise.
Rising sea levels have been the principal focus of my artwork for some time now, and I’ve used a variety of media to raise awareness. But I always come back to painting, the subject I studied and the medium I feel most affinity with. I wanted to exhibit the series in Venice, for this is perhaps Europe’s first clear victim of rising water.
These miniature seas are painted in oil onto metal tins I’ve been collecting for many years. I felt that the surfaces in this collection needed to be approachable, familiar and accessible; just as the data concerning the state of our planet needs to be. The series speaks quietly of a need to come together, to combine our actions, to live within our means, take care of our resources and focus on a sustainable future.
Each is named for a day of the year.