Alan Davie, R.A. (1920-2014)

The title of the present work, Dreamcatcher, highlights Alan Davie's ongoing interest in mysticism and magic, particularly that of the Shamans. Davie sees his work as 'fundamentally the same as artists of remote times ... engaged in a shamanistic conjuring up of visions which will link us metaphorically with mysterious and spiritual forces normally beyond our apprehension' (Exhibition catalogue, Alan Davie: Schilderijen Paintings, 1950-2000, Amstelveen, Cobra Museum of Modern Art, 1989, p. 13).

In an interview with Iain Gale, Davie talked about the symbols that became more apparent in his work from the mid-1960s: 'I realised you didn't have to have wild paint on a picture to make it a dynamic object. There is an incredible source of creative energy within oneself - an archetypal imagery within. Jung had the same idea: all sorts of symbols which one recognises without having to know what they mean. You find the same symbols in different cultures from all over the world from Australian Aborigines or Pictish tribes to Caribbean Indians' ('Tales of man, myth and magic', The Independent, 18 May 1993).