Fresh off the back of his maze of art and live performances at the Goods Shed in Stroud. Artist Dan Rawlings is heading to London to cut his mark on all things scrap metal. You might have seen his artwork at the Affordable Art Fairs. His cut out silos and vans have stamped his name out amongst art collectors.
Untranslated is the first solo show of Dan Rawlings metal work. It is certainly set to go off with a bang! Taking the shows title from his fascination with words that have not been translated into English. Rawlings new collection focuses on words such as Waldeinsamkeit which means a feeling of connectedness to nature when in woodland. He explains these ephemeral words as a return to “the importance of dreaming, to enjoy the simpler moments”. They contradict our fast paced consumer led lifestyles.
Happy Accident
It is a perhaps odd skill to find that you have. So how did Dan come to find this method of making art? Rawlings explains it as a ‘happy accident’. After turning to his Grandfather for scrap metal to patch up a door. He happened upon an antique saw and there he recognised his opportunity. “I recognised the ‘collective memories’ and decided to try and keep the saws form in tact and create something from it. It took a while to make some work I was really happy with, but I’m really glad I did”. Untranslated is certainly an exhibition of conversion.
Fancy seeing your rusty old saw cut into something far better and infinitely more interesting? Dan Rawlings will be collecting your old rusty saws and metal on Saturday 28 May, 12-4pm at Curious Duke Gallery. The metal amnesty is for all unwanted metal that will go Dan Rawlings for future artworks. If you are interested in having a spring clean of your garden shed or attic, please send images of your unwanted metal to info@curiousdukegallery.com for further details.
This has been a guest post by Sinead Loftus and is part of our ‘ones to watch’ series. Untranslated by Dan Rawlings is showing at the Curious Duke Gallery on Whitecross Street in London from 5 May 2016 to 28 May 2016
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