David Studwell is a contemporary British artist and print maker. He studied at Central St Martins School of Art and has since worked as an artist for over 20 years. Studwell harnesses the spirit of the sixties and seventies, the cult of celebrity and the legacy of Warhol to produce iconic screen prints.
His works explore the darker side of fame, nostalgia and Americana-police mug shots of well known stars show them at their most vulnerable, or at their most defiant. Private moments of icons at screen tests or during reflection become graphically public, produced in bold and vivid colours. Studwell’s work also tracks the legacy of photography, technology and photographers in the 20th century.
His work has gained appreciation from several super star art collectors, including Kate Moss, Sheryl Crow and Nile Rogers. Perhaps because his art offers a crisp commentary on the cult of celebrity, following in the direct legacy of Andy Warhol and the sixties Pop Art movement. Studwell works through the medium of silkscreen printing with the use of bold and vibrant colour and a very demanding level of technical precision. He often incorporates the use of razor-sharp diamond dust to finish his works.
“I feel that I’m different to many artists in the sense that my work harks back to bygone eras. The golden age of Hollywood, the fifties and the sixties have always attracted me. My focus is on a period when the word ‘celebrity’ actually meant something. Unlike today when reality TV or social media springboards unknowns into the spotlight.”
The signature Studwell look is one of a high-end classic Hollywood glamour which evokes high fashion whilst eschewing passing fads. Striking juxtapositions are made of beauty, fame and stardom with a technicolour expose of inner vulnerability. Studwell has gone back to the past in order to comment on the present.
