DUNDEE.- Dundee Contemporary Arts offers up a new constellation of work by British artist David Austen, bringing the breadth of his artistic practice to audiences in Scotland for the first time with the exhibition Underworld.

Since the 1980s Austen has worked as a painter, sculptor, printmaker and filmmaker. The stylistically diverse elements of his work come together to reveal an often dark yet endearing vision of the world. The artworks in this exhibition, from oil paintings on heavy flax canvas and delicate watercolour works on paper to suspended sculptural objects and cinematic film projects, create an otherworldly space inhabited by Austen’s strange and lovelorn characters.

With sources as varied as 19th century literature, poetry, ancient myth and film noir, the impetus of Austen’s work often derives from his immediate surroundings. There is a liveliness and generosity in his approach to art-making, a delicacy of touch, a delight in the unexpected, and a disarmingly nuanced understanding of complex human emotions. Each object and artwork in this project stands alone and speaks for itself yet simultaneously connects with others in the spaces, forming multiple narratives across the galleries.

Underworld seeks to create a mythical space for viewers to journey through, punctuated by the artist’s poetic musings on the known world, the imagined world, the bright celestial heights above us and the shadowy, unknowable depths below.

To mark the significance of this exhibition and to further draw out the literary connections and associations within Austen’s work we will be publishing a major new book as part of the project containing newly commissioned texts by renowned poet and novelist Lavinia Greenlaw and curator and writer George Vasey.

Austen will also be collaborating with the DCA Print Studio team to produce a special limited edition print to mark not only the opening of this exhibition but also to celebrate DCA’s 20th birthday this spring.

David Austen: Underworld runs from Sat 23 March -Sun 9 June in DCA Galleries. An events programme will accompany the exhibition.

Beth Bate, Director at DCA said: "As we celebrate 20 years of contemporary art, culture and creativity, we are thrilled to be welcoming David Austen to our galleries. We can’t wait to bring the expanse of this internationally renowned artist's practice to Scotland for the first time and to share this exhibition with our audiences here at DCA”

David Austen said: "The exhibition Underworld is like a journey, it contains lanterns to light our way. We see naked ghosts, violent twisted trees, scraped road-side words, a ships-crew of men who have seen better days, abstracts from a burnt out retina, an ocean of stars, a city of fractured coloured glass. My work explores love and yearning, loss and grief, memory and dream and the unreliability of these things. I make my work with exactitude and attention; it’s what the world deserves."

Eoin Dara, Head of Exhibitions at DCA, said: “I have been happily mesmerised by David Austen’s work ever since catching a glimpse of one of his intimate watercolour drawings several years ago. To then go on and discover the breadth and ambition of his diverse practice across painting, drawing, sculpture and film was quite a revelation. I’m truly excited to be able to draw together new and existing works across this eclectic range of media to fill both our galleries at DCA this spring.”

David Austen (b.1960) is an artist based in London. A graduate of the Royal College of Art (1985), he has exhibited widely over the past 30 years. Solo exhibitions include: The Drowned, Matt’s Gallery, London (2018); The stars above the ocean…the ocean beneath the stars, David Totah Gallery, New York (2018); Black Heart, Mueseo d’Arte Contemporanea di Cogliandrino; End of Love, Modern Art Oxford (2010); and My love, I have been digging up my own in the bones in the garden again, Ingleby Gallery, Edinburgh (2009).

His work has been featured in major international group projects and is held in collections such as Tate, British Council, Arts Council England and the Government Art Collection. He is represented by Ingleby Gallery, Edinburgh.