Profile: professional history
Early background
David Rees was born in the UK in 1947, educated at Wallasey Grammar School, Wallasey and Liverpool Colleges of Art. His father, concerned that few commercial openings existed for artists at that time, secured him a job in the Publicity Department of an international building and construction company. Initially producing “artist's impressions”, he gained valuable experience from high–profile professionals — in art direction, print/graphic design, large–format photography, exhibition design and 16mm film production. Utilising all these facets, he became the national advertising manager for the UK's leading, multi–franchised car and truck distributors, before joining their advertising agency in London.
World trip
In 1976 David went off around the world and finally settled in Adelaide, starting his own advertising agency, Motivators.
Business
David's early engagement with the practicalities of advertising (as it was practised prior to the digital age) provided him with the skills to combine his inherent artist's background with the creative freedom offered by advertising. From this, he developed his fascination for graphics, pop–art and loved the total control of the creative process. Writing and producing television and radio commercials for his clients, amounting to a turnover of several million dollars.
In 1986 he sold up and went to live in Alice Springs, consulting to the Northern Territory Government Tourist Commission. The visual intensity of the Red Centre and the desert made a deep impression on him. After a stint in Perth a decade was spent in Dubai as a consultant to Emirates Petroleum and General Motors. The experience of witnessing the mirrored glass towers rising from the desert sand began to fascinate him and he began photographing their shimmering, distorted reflections — promising to paint them “one day”.
Life changing
Presented, on his birthday, with a large box of oil paints, his girlfriend suggested that he could now “become the artist you always should have been”. This was a highly provocative, but also very intuitive suggestion. That very day the life–changing decision was made. He decided that if he was to succeed as an artist, he would have to give up everything else — which he duly did!
Solo exhibitions
He locked himself away and went back to studying art–college basics — emerging with his “Reflected Dimensions” series. David's first solo exhibition occurred shortly after, in Dubai in 1998. This was followed by an exhibition in Australia.
David returned to the UK to exhibit with several London galleries. The Royal Society of British Artists and The Royal Society of Marine Artists have both selected his work to be exhibited in their Annual Exhibitions at The Mall Galleries.
During 2002 David was artist–in–residence in St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. In 2003 he had a solo exhibition at the Australian High Commission in London.
Portraiture
In 2000 David began to accept commissions and paint portraits. His first portrait of Cherie Booth QC, the wife of Tony Blair, was given to them for the Prime Minister's office at No.10.
On David's return to Sydney in 2005 he became an exhibiting member of Portrait Artists Australia, whose exhibition venues have included the High Court and Parliament House.
Versatility
Ever the versatile artist, David has made several detours into abstraction, but has realised that his passion and gift is probably for the real image — in whatever subject matter. And David's long association with advertising has led him to re–examine the tenets of pop–art from a contemporary perspective.