Dexter Dalwood

Dexter Dalwood is another favorite artist of mine. A British born artist, Dalwood paints the interiors of celebrities and socialites, such as this scene of Jackie Onassis' yacht. Never having been to any of the places he depicts in his paintings, Dalwood constructs a narrative and is suggestive of the the views of the collective conscious and today's media.While the scenes he creates are not entirely fictional, they are taken heavily from the made up stories and headlines of magazines and newspaper articles. They hint at the intriguing lives of celebrities and how they are viewed in the public eye. He often begins making small collages using cutouts of showroom furniture from magazines, which he then uses as a source to create his paintings. I just love them. They have the awkwardness and quirkiness of David Hockney. They are also filled with symbolism and mystique and speak so much about our glamorized culture and the ugly truth of it all.