Dan Rees works across a variety of media including painting, photography, performance art and sculpture to create conceptual and process-driven works. He is most famous for his series of Artex paintings, which he started in 2011 and rapidly gained international acclaim. Invented in the UK, Artex is a surface coating which was widely used in 1970s Britain to add texture to interior walls and ceilings. It is a material that adorns working class homes in the UK and forms part of the decoration of a certain social demographic, at the same time beautiful and gaudy. By repositioning the swirling patina of Artex into the context of painterly abstract pieces, Rees produces works which are texturally rich, yet aware of their own internal conflict. Within these paintings, distinctive shell-like patterns are combed through energetically coloured fields. These are works which are imbued with the dichotomy between aesthetics and class and are characteristic of Rees’ skill for combining the language of abstraction with cultural history.
Rees's work is held in public and private collections worldwide including The Bass, Miami; Goss Michael Foundation, Dallas; National Museum of Wales, Cardiff; Vanhaerents Art Collection, Brussels; Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin.
Dan Rees (b. 1982) Lives and works in Berlin
Dan Rees
Dan Rees works across a variety of media including painting, photography, performance art and sculpture to create conceptual and process-driven works. He is most famous for his series of Artex paintings, which he started in 2011 and rapidly gained international acclaim. Invented in the UK, Artex is a surface coating which was widely used in 1970s Britain to add texture to interior walls and ceilings. It is a material that adorns working class homes in the UK and forms part of the decoration of a certain social demographic, at the same time beautiful and gaudy. By repositioning the swirling patina of Artex into the context of painterly abstract pieces, Rees produces works which are texturally rich, yet aware of their own internal conflict. Within these paintings, distinctive shell-like patterns are combed through energetically coloured fields. These are works which are imbued with the dichotomy between aesthetics and class and are characteristic of Rees’ skill for combining the language of abstraction with cultural history.
Rees's work is held in public and private collections worldwide including The Bass, Miami; Goss Michael Foundation, Dallas; National Museum of Wales, Cardiff; Vanhaerents Art Collection, Brussels; Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin.