David Band
David Band was no chromophobe. In fact colour was the constant that drove his art practice for more than twenty years. Colour – vivid and physical – led the conversation with shape and form across a range of subjects from still life to pure abstraction. Band’s influences were not surprisingly just as diverse as his subjects, spanning 1950’s design, French still life painting, American abstract expressionism and jazz. He spoke of ideas kicking around for some time before taking up the offer of bringing them to life.
Band’s adherence to a formal methodology can be traced to his training at the acclaimed Glasgow School of Art, followed by further study at the Royal College of Art in London. The Glaswegian curriculum prioritised drawing and the persistence of this early training can be found in Band’s experimental works using string and spirographs as drawing tools and subjects. Before moving to Australia in 1986, Band combined his art practice with running a successful design studio (he was commissioned in the early 1980’s to make a series of drawings and paintings for albums by Spandau Ballet). Thereafter Band continued to balance these two disciplines; his design work liberated him from an attachment to a particular medium in his art making (his later work saw him move from two dimensions into three) and his design practice was constantly enriched by his striving towards simplicity.
Band’s artworks are held in numerous private and public collections, nationally and internationally, including the National Gallery of Australia, The Art Institute of Chicago, Artbank, the National Gallery of Victoria, ANZ Private Bank and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
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