In their rustic aesthetic and exaggerated spatial rendering William Daniels’s paintings, at first glance, appear to be contemporary explorations of cubism. They are, however, immaculately drafted still-lifes. Daniels begins each piece by making immensely detailed collages: reconstructing well known art historical paintings from bits of found paper, fag packs, and household products. Using these as maquettes, he then translates each fold, frayed edge, and bevelled texture into highly realistic paintings.
Based on Thomas Phillip’s 1807 portrait, Daniel’s William Blake II is uncanny in its decrepit, post-apocalyptic semblance. Exchanging the rich warm hues of Georgian parlour painting for the ashen greys of his recycled study, Daniels revives his art historical subject as a zombie-like effigy, an homage to a hero that’s both futuristic and decayed. Through Daniel’s attenuate process of working from life models, William Blake II resounds with a heightened sense of the presence of the subject before the artist, bringing to light issues of originality, authenticity, and the malleability of documentation.