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Ian Davenport's large-scale 'puddle paintings' that drip into rainbow coloured pools

Ian Davenport's Colourscapes is a new exhibition launching at Waddington Custot gallery in London this September, featuring new paintings by the British artist. Building on his career-long investigation of chance, colour and the innate qualities of paint, it will also feature Davenport's works on paper that reveal his entire process.

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Vertical striped panel with blue, grey and white lines pooling into swirling rainbow patterns of paint at its base on a grey floor

The main gallery space will house Davenport's large-scale Puddle Paintings, which follow on from his giant, 14-metre wide installation for the 2017 Venice Biennale and introduce a sculptural element to the picture plane. Using a schematic colour palette, he meticulously applies paint from a height, allowing it to ebb and flow in a single linear stroke, a process which is then repeated to form a landscape of colour.

These new works, including Mirrored Place and Olympia, also incorporate intricate and varying natural patterns as the paint pools at the bottom of the vertical panel in a physical extension of the painting.

Recently, Davenport has been interested in expanding his artistic dialogue by examining the flow of paint in more detail and investigating how to manipulate liquid acrylic to create more compositional variety and complexity. He has found a method to pour a sheet of different colours together in one gesture. As he draws with the paint, often in a diagonal direction, he is experimenting with the expansion and contraction of line.

In contrast, his Splat works on paper resemble explosive fireworks. He builds paint up in layers, obscuring and erasing each preceding mark to create energy and depth. The mark making is active and aggressive with passages of openness. The fallout from the paint's impact as it hits the paper leaves residual traces and splinters of colour.

Ian Davenport Colourscapes runs from 20 September until 8 November 2018 at the Waddington Custot gallery in London. Find out more: waddingtoncustot.com.

Ian Davenport's large-scale puddle painting with vertical stripes of blue, red, orange and yellow paint pooling at the base onto the gallery floor
Vertical stripes of vibrant colours flow downward and pool at the base of Ian Davenport's Puddle Painting, creating swirling abstract patterns in blues, reds, yellows, greens and purples
Vertical stripes of colour transition from straight lines at the top to flowing, swirled patterns at the bottom, creating a pooling effect of rainbow hues
Vertical stripes of blue, grey, black and pink paint drip down a white panel and pool into swirled rainbow patterns across the floor below
Vertical stripes in varying widths in shades of blue, grey, white, burgundy and tan creating an abstract striped composition
Vertical stripes of blue, black, orange and other colours drip downwards and pool into swirling abstract patterns on a grey floor in Ian Davenport's Puddle Painting
Vertical striped painting in ochre, blue and grey by Ian Davenport with paint pooling into wavy patterns at the base
Colourful vertical and diagonal stripes of paint in yellow, blue, orange, red and green flow across a white surface, pooling at the bottom in undulating waves of colour
Vertical panel with multicoloured vertical stripes in yellow, blue and green, with paint pooling at the base in a wavy puddle formation on the gallery floor
Colourful vertical paint streams drip and pool into swirling organic patterns at the base of Ian Davenport's large-scale puddle painting
Vertical stripes of red, orange, yellow, blue, purple and green paint drip downwards and pool at the base in Ian Davenport's Puddle Painting
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