Artist Statement
Artist Statement 2020
“As a artist, painting means a constant balancing between what was my initial pictorial intent for a painting to how this changes rapidly through the process of creating the work. The realization that this often emerges organically is the one I try to allow throughout the process.
There is a constant battle in my mind and the painting surface between the atmospherically and pictorial development of the work , its connection to my overall practice and how it sits with a contemporary context. The work itself is a response to an emotion, a feeling, an experience. My response is how I convey this a 2D surface, How do I allow an audience to also experience this, how do I invite them in?
Intentionally one of my main ambitions with my practice is to create a specific mood or emotional response in painting of the landscape or nature that surrounds us.
In my perception of nature, the remote forest, the disorderly wilderness, the ever so slight indication to humans presence within the landscape I aim to find a blend between the real and the fiction. When amongst the vegetation or the tracks within a forest, I feel at ease, I am searching for the magic from these hidden places, its history, its healing qualities, all seam to have the ability to exist beyond time.
Somewhere in the tangled chaos of vegetation, figures, shapes, light and darkness shadows a presence exists, its is bigger than me, it is bigger than us
I paint the landscape in complete awe”
Daniel Chester is a visual artist living in County Leitrim. He obtained a Masters in Visual Arts Practices from IADT in 2009, previous to that he obtained a Degree in Fine Art from Sligo IT in 2001. Chester has exhibited throughout Ireland and abroad, with a number of recent solo and group shows such as”Beyond the Stile” SolartGallery “The Land is Ours” Luan Gallery, Athlone. Beyond the Plains Couthouse Gallery, Ennistymon, “The Ethereal Space” Hamilton Gallery, Sligo. “Identity” Westival Westport Co Mayo, Seeing is believing, Solartgallery Dublin. Daniels work has been selected for the RUA awards ever year for the last four years and he recently was awarded the cairde visual and the model award residency for his painting “Mayo Marshlands”. Daniel has been awarded a number of artist bursary awards from Leitrim Coco and currently holds a studio in the Leitrim Sculputre Center, Manorhamilton.
Daniels work has been purchased by the OPW, Leitrim Coco,Sligo coco, Sligo IT, Danske Bank and in numerous private collections throughout the world.