David Cheeseman - Once ever After: Thrice Removed

About

Domo Baal is proud to present a solo exhibition of the work of David Cheeseman. The exhibition runs concurrently with 'The Twin: Coventry Biennial' where his installation 'Matters Not' (bronze, acrylic, stainless steel, neodymium magnets, film reel tin, Persian carpet, synthesised diamond, 2018/19) is the central piece at the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, and 'Drawn Breath' a solo exhibition of Cheeseman's recent work at Tintype Gallery in London.

The exhibition here focusses on a single large–scale extraordinary sculptural installation: 'Once ever After: Thrice Removed'. It has been sub–titled 'Thrice Removed' as on each of the three occasions it has been shown, the work has been expanded and developed further in direct response to the different characters of the spaces in which it has been exhibited. It was first exhibited in 'Solid State: Reflections on the real' curated by Jane Dixon at Kettle's Yard, Cambridge in 2001. This solo exhibition is organised together with Mhairi Vari, David Cheeseman's partner and long–term collaborator whose practice is represented by domobaal, and Tintype who represent David Cheeseman's practice. David died of cancer one year ago, and it is was his expressed wish that this work could be exhibited in this particular space. We are all delighted to have the opportunity to honour this wish and David Cheeseman's work.

"In David Cheeseman's large–scale work 'Once Ever After' we are also led to question visually what is happening. Apparently solid objects, a table, a chess–board, chairs and a carpet, are deconstructed, encased in small glass cubes and reconstructed into a fragmented vision of its former self. Each glass box, some of which stand empty as a platform to support and isolate the elements from their surroundings and the floor, suggests a unit of measurement, an individual component from which an entire molecular structure of solid matter will be formed, but it is also this reductive process which has caused the fracture. The minimalist grid contrasts with decoration of the mock Victorian carpet and repro furniture to form a kind of history painting, a memorial to a moment in time." (1)

David Cheeseman first exhibited at domobaal in 'Magic within Reason' in 2004, a group exhibition curated by Annie Cattrell, when he showed a bejewelled levitating object. From the text for that exhibition: "He is interested in the 'theatre of illusion' believing that the 'aura' surrounding the magician lies somewhere between that of the priest and the scientist: It requires a level of discipline, precision and understanding of scientific principles alongside an intuitive grasp of psychology that encourages us, the audience, to talk 'about the beyond'" (2). This remains ever pertinent to the main piece shown in 'Once ever After: Thrice Removed'. In 2008 Mhairi Vari and David Cheeseman presented their joint solo exhibition 'Analogue' at domobaal. In 2016 when he held his solo show 'Slime Mould Logic' at Tintype, he and Maud Cotter, who was exhibiting her solo show 'Matter of Fact' here, held two in–depth conversations, one in each of their exhibitions on the same day, both can be accessed using the links at the end of this text.

During his career David Cheeseman completed public commissions and was the artist in residence at Gloucester Cathedral. In 1991 he was awarded the Oppenheim–John Downes Memorial Award and in 2001 he participated in the touring exhibition 'Multiplication' organised by the British Council.

Other notable exhibitions include 'Dumfounded' at Battersea Arts Centre (1999), 'ArtFutures' at the Royal Festival Hall (2000) and 'On the Other Hand' at Gloucester Cathedral (2006). David Cheeseman was awarded the Gulbenkian Rome Scholarship in Sculpture, and The Henry Moore Fellow in Sculpture at Coventry University. In 2015 he completed a residency at Lydney Park Estate in association with Matt’s Gallery London and also presented a Fig.2 at the ICA in collaboration with Ole Hagen and astrophysicist Roberto Trotta. In 2016 he held a solo show 'Slime Mould Logic' at Tintype.

David Cheeseman taught extensively in the UK and was Senior Lecturer in Fine Art at Birmingham City University. His work is represented by Tintype.

(1) Jane Dixon writing in the catalogue published for 'Solid State, Reflections on the real' at Kettle's Yard on the version of 'Once Ever After' exhibited in Kettle's Yard, Cambridge, September to November 2001.

(2) From the press release for the exhibition 'Magic within Reason' at domobaal in 2004.