David Kim Whittaker 'A Beautiful Kind of Certainty'

D A V I D W H I T T A K E R
A Beautiful Kind of Certainty

Everyday before I go to the studio I step into my local corner
shop to pick up supplies, drinks, nutri-grain bars, etc, and gaze
over the front covers of the newspapers. All the trouble and woe
is there in front of me. Another soldier dies; a murder; a young girl
falls in front of a train. All this seeps out and into the work I make.
For me it’s a way through, a comment on this massive industrial
species in ‘theatre’ (in battle / in war).
“To slither along the edge of a straight razor and survive” is
what Colonel Kurtz said. It’s what we are all doing anyway in our
working week, in our homes, in our beds and every time we look
in the mirror. We are what we are. I am what I am.
The past few years has brought with it an increase in the
confidence of the work, and, working within a group of artists on
the rise is that perfect freak on the ceiling moment.
David Whittaker. 2011
The Devadasi English Landscape
oil and acrylic on canvas
79 x 79 cm
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When writing a catalogue essay my approach is often
one which adopts a measure of trepidation and a degree
of humility. I have never felt this more than with the
introduction to this exhibition by David Whittaker. It is
a watershed.
The two years between Whittaker’s last solo
exhibition; ‘A Brief Moment in the Exposure’, and this,
have been full of maturation. In fact – beginning with our
first show at Goldfish; ‘If This Life’, there has been an
evolution through a particularly momentous
period in his life. Whittaker’s transitions personally and
professionally have been marked and are clearly ongoing.
I am in no small way moved by Whittaker’s courage and
immensely gratified to be hosting this exhibition.
During the last two years Whittaker has been
adapting to diagnosis of gender dysphoria. This explicitly
provides an invaluable context. These circumstances
instill within the work a universally balanced viewpoint.
These paintings, primarily of the head, illustrate a
generic duality confined within the human
condition, both the physical and the emotional
manifested. Primal, archetypal male attributes transcend
into a feminine space. This fusion informs us and allows
us to contemplate where this positions our species. The
paintings represent the universal, metaphysical self. I
emphasise universal, it is important to do so, Whittaker’s
aim is always to capture an elusive ‘humanness’, to give
shape to all our complex lives as witnessed in the muddle
of the minds eye.
There is the visual language, then we have the poetic
language of the titles – both dance together. ‘The
Devadasi English Landscape’ references young Indian
girls who are officially married to God, it makes
an empathic statement about inescapable destiny,
freedom of choice and commitment, this
strongly echoes Whittaker’s commitment to art and
circumstance. ‘Quite a Little Freaker’, heralds this inner
Quite a Little Freaker
oil and acrylic on canvas
79 x 79 cm
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acceptance - it’s ok to be different, we all are, beauty
should be sought within. Any feelings of personal
tragedy, entrapment or isolation (which we all feel) may
be present but are offered up as a firm shoulder to be
leant upon; as a voice of experience, understanding and
servility. The three small mirrors in the exhibition titled
‘When Trains Kill Poems’ is an urgent and moving piece
of work, which comments on those who internally
suffer, urging them to share their pain, to not be isolated
or lost to it. This is clearly deeply, empathetically felt
and evident throughout Whittaker’s oeuvre. I spoke to
someone recently who was transfixed by one of
Whittaker’s paintings, she then said that she knew
very little about art, but was struck by an inner beauty
emanating from the piece. I related to that, it seemed
such a simple, effective way to put it.
Whittaker has also recently relocated to a new studio
which has brought with it an increase in scale – the
suite of self portrait paintings are the largest and most
ambitious works made by Whittaker to date. The
fluidity of these pieces suggest a lake in which one
sees mankind’s reflection. Laying down a marker or
sending out an echo of this life, reflecting the messiness of
existence alongside inner utopian desire and potential.
With this exhibition I believe that Whittaker has forcibly
achieved what he has set out to do – to make something
monumental about the human condition, something that
has not been seen before. With integrity, fearlessness
and honesty, he has placed himself well and truly on the
front line. When we live in a day and age, where to do
so is such a scarce commodity, I feel it is worthy of both
recognition and embrace.
Perhaps it is best to sum up this introduction with
Whittaker’s own words; “We are born in this life to do
with it what we can. Of course we have the certainty of
death which cannot be escaped, but in the meantime we
must celebrate as much as possible”
Joseph Clarke. 2011
In Storm in Glorious
oil and acrylic on canvas
79 x 79 cm
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When Trains Kill Poems
oil, acrylic, china marker and collage with lipstick, lipgloss and lipgloss
applicators, eye shadow compact, paper towel on free standing mirrors
32.5 x 18.5 cm each (triptych)
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Take Me Back to the Start
acrylic, collage and china marker on white card
21 x 29.5 cm each (triptych)
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The Fading Light
acrylic, collage and china marker on white card
21 x 29.5 cm each (triptych)
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The Dreamtime
oil and acrylic on wood panel
61 x 61 cm
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Rivers of the Mouth
oil and acrylic on wood panel
61 x 61 cm
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One Imagine that Sets the Bar
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oil and acrylic on wood panel
61 x 61 cm

Swans
oil and acrylic on wood panel
61 x 61 cm
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Shot Rings out on a Cornish Sky You are Free Tonight You are Free Tonight
oil and acrylic on wood panel
61 x 61 cm
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Mares and Foals
oil and acrylic on wood panel
61 x 61 cm
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Angels Don’t Come Cheap in this Life
oil and acrylic on wood panel
61 x 61 cm
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Cover for Modern Painters
oil and acrylic on wood panel
61 x 61 cm
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Kazuo Ohno Dancing as a Ghost
Haywain
acrylic, collage and china marker on white card
21 x 29.5 cm
acrylic, collage and china marker on white card
21 x 29.5 cm
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I Called you from the Hotel Phone
Tether to my Art
acrylic, collage and china marker on white card
21 x 29.5 cm
acrylic, collage and china marker on white card
21 x 29.5 cm
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Self Portrait One, The Silent Storm, 2011
(The Broads, Shifting Thumder, Cool, Sound of a Distant Jet Way Above)
oil and acrylic on canvas
160 x 160 cm
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Self Portrait Two, Ghosts of the Dysphoria, 2011
(The Glebe Farm, After Constable, Team of Horses Through the Valley, Langham, Deep in England)
oil and acrylic on canvas
160 x 160 cm
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Self Portrait Three, Stations of the Sex, 2011
(Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows, After Constable, Engines Taking on Water)
oil and acrylic on canvas
160 x 160 cm
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Self Portrait Four, Jewel Box, 2011
(The Broads, Thundery Showers, Late Afternoon, A Young Girl in Reflection, Poetics of the Past Never Forgotten)
oil and acrylic on canvas
160 x 160 cm
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Towards an English Landscape
Symphony for the Well Being
acrylic and china marker on black card
20.5 x 29.5 cm
acrylic and collage on black card
20.5 x 29.5 cm
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Last Words
The Christ
acrylic on black card
20.5 x 29.5 cm
acrylic, collage and china marker on black card
20.5 x 29.5 cm
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Through the Silent Shot
The Nun
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acrylic and collage on black card
20.5 x 29.5 cm
acrylic, china marker and linen net on black card
20.5 x 29.5 cm

You Can Open Your Eyes Now
We are What we Are (Towards an English Landscape)
acrylic, collage and linen net on black card
20.5 x 29.5 cm
acrylic, collage and linen net on black card
20.5 x 29.5 cm
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DAVID WHITTAKER
Born in 1964. He is self taught.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2011 A Beautiful Kind of Certainty
2009 Brief Moment In The Exposure
2001 Gallery Excalibur, Stressa, Italy
2000 Falmouth Art Gallery, Cornwall
1998 Open Studio, St Ives, Cornwall
1997 Open Studio, St Ives, Cornwall
1996 Open Studio, St Ives, Cornwall
1992 Hyde Park Gallery, London
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2011 London Art Fair, Business Design Centre, Islington
2010 The House of Fairy Tales, Millennium, St. Ives
London Art Fair, Business Design Centre, Islington
2009 The Lock Up, London
Mixed Exhibition, Millennium
London Art Fair, Business Design Centre, Islington
NSA Exhibition, Royal West of England Academy, Bristol
2008 Winter Exhibition, Millennium
London Art Fair, Business Design Centre, Islington
A Fine Line, Artonomy, Truro
2005 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, Piccadilly, London
2004 The Discerning Eye, Mall Galleries, London
2003 Debut Show, Gallery One O Two, London
Inaugural St. Ives Festival Show, The Mariners Gallery, St. Ives
2002 Christmas Show, Lemon Street Gallery, Truro, Cornwall 2001
Show for Reuters, Britart, Brick Lane, London
2000 One Foot Two Show, Mafuji Gallery, London
1999 Hidden Art (collaboration of workshops and studios in London)
Millennium Exhibition, Mafuji Gallery, London
Summer Show, Wimbledon Art Group, London
Selected Artists, Raw Art Gallery, London
Gallery Show, New Millennium Gallery, St. Ives, Cornwall
1998 Summer Show, Highgate Fine Art, London
1994 Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, California, USA
1993 Gallery Show, Salthouse Gallery, St. Ives, Cornwall
PUBLICATIONS
2011 A Beautiful Kind of Certainty catalogue, published by Millennium
2009 Brief Moment In The Exposure catalogue, published by Millennium
2006 Dictionary of Artists in Britain since 1945, David Buckman
All work made from 2010 - 2011
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Published by Millennium to coincide with the exhibition ‘A Beautiful Kind of Certainty’ by David Whittaker
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form
or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publishers
Printed by Active Colour (www.activecolour.co.uk)
ISBN 978-1-905772-44-5
Footfalls echo in the memory
Down the passage which we did not take
Towards the door we never opened
Into the rose-garden
T. S. Eliot. Burnt Norton
MILLENNIUM
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mail@millenniumgallery.co.uk
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