Graham Duncan Elder’s diverse body of work represents an imagination with no bounds, an expresser of unconscious memories, visually distilling his personal mythology and broad range of cultural influences — from Egyptian art to jazz, psychedelia, and the lyrics of Mayo Thompson, Don Van Vliet, and Tommy Hall.
Raised in 1980’s/90’s London, a rising metropolis of neon lights, electro music and video games fed his imagination — inspiring his art. Elder reflects upon the architecture, subways, and graffiti of his hometown in abstract compositions or action paintings that capture the electric pulse of the city. His imaginary inner world unifies geometric interiors with the identities of his subjects, making for a technicoloured hyper reality. Elder engages with both spontaneous action and refined control in the creation of paintings that sizzle with energy or contemplate the hard-edged freezing of time. The events of his life are embellished and reinterpreted into his personal mythology — a colourful world of friends and lovers.
His oeuvre encompasses paintings, sketch books, and an array of works on paper such as drawings, gouaches, collages, and digital images.
Graham Duncan Elder was born in 1981 in London, England. After studying Illustration at the Hull School of Art & design, he set up a studio focusing on the creation of paintings.
Elder’s work has been shown and collected by private buyers, he has performed or exhibited nationally at Feren’s Art Gallery, Hackney Wicked Festival, The Oubliette Arthouse, Homerton Arts Group, A.C Art Gallery, Supernormal Festival, Red Gallery, Middleton Hall – The University of Hull, and Elevator Gallery, among others.
Today, he is painting images depicting the human form in a variety of situations and environments. A triptych of large canvases entitled ‘Lost Girls, Girls Lost’ depict friends/ex-partners at home in states of relaxation, despair, or embarrassment. “I am creating portraits that tell fictitious/exaggerated personal narratives” Graham Duncan Elder. Other current works represent strangers from the online world of dating apps, video cams, and akin social media. Watch out for this artist!