MEET THE MEMBER – John Davies Gallery
This month we spoke to John Davies, founder and owner of John Davies Gallery in Moreton-in-Marsh. Artist, gallerist and art dealer Davies has over 5 decades of experience working within the UK art market. After exhibiting and selling the work of other artists for many years, John Davies Gallery is excited to present the first ever solo exhibition of Davies’ own work. Two Aspects of an Artist is set to open on 29 March 2025.
John Davies, A Field of Rape Near Long Compton, Warwickshire (watercolour, 36cm x 51cm)
The Story of John Davies Gallery
Davies started painting at school, first working in watercolours, and later experimenting with collage and oil paints. In 1964 he spent several months studying Technical Illustration at Birmingham School of Art, but his time there was unfortunately cut short by injuries he received as a passenger in car accident. Throughout the 70’s, while developing his watercolour technique, Davies decided he needed something to help subsidise his earnings as an artist, since his practice was so time-consuming. He built relationships with several art dealers, visited their salesrooms, and acquired 19th and 20th century paintings to sell to other dealers. At the same time, he cultivated his own network of private clients.
In 1977 he opened a small gallery in Stow-on-the-Wald, where he would stage hundreds of exhibitions over the coming decades, showing both period and contemporary work. In pursuit of more space for his expanding business, he knocked through to connecting properties on three separate occasions. The gallery was thriving, but Davies’ own painting practice came to a stop.
In 2007, thirty years after establishing the Stow gallery, Davies moved the business to an exhibition space within a converted 1920’s dairy plant in Moreton-in-Marsh, a few miles up the road from Stow-on-the-Wald. Here Davies and his team have staged many exhibitions, including solo contemporary shows, group exhibitions and collections on different themes. They handle a wide variety of works by contemporary artists, ranging from traditional, representational and post-impressionist art to more progressive styles, including semi-abstract and abstract paintings. When asked for some highlights from his career so far, Davies shared;
“At Moreton, particularly from 2010 – 2020 [we exhibited] semi-abstract works of real substance by such artists as Terry Frost, Adrian Heath, William Gear, William Scott RA, and Douglas Swan, to name a few. The gallery at Moreton also saw extremely strong shows of David Prentice up to his death in 2014 and retrospective exhibitions subsequently.”
John Davies, Abstract Composition 141124, Break Through (gouache over watercolour, 51cm x 28cm)
Making art accessible with Own Art
In 2009, John Davies Gallery became a member of the Own Art scheme, to help more people afford the art they love by spreading the cost of their purchase over 10 months, interest free. Davies’ decision to join the scheme was two-fold. Firstly, he wanted to “make good, fine art accessible to as many as people as possible” explaining that Own Art can “take the sting out of a purchase”. Secondly, it seemed logical to him from a business point of view that “the Own Art scheme should add sales that one might not otherwise have”. He also added that the availability of Own Art at John Davies Gallery helps with how people positively perceive the business. Being part of an Arts Council-backed initiative dedicated to improving access to the arts can only be a positive thing.
Here at Own Art, we believe in the positive impact that having art in the home can have on a person’s wellbeing and that the act of collecting art can be a fruitful and deeply impactful journey that can last a lifetime. Davies shares this sentiment, expressing that;
“There is nothing quite like the experience of purchasing an original work of art. Also, there is nothing quite like getting a newly acquired original painting home and putting it on the wall. The Own Art scheme extends this possibility to a wider range of potential buyers than would otherwise be the case.”
A long time coming…
After so many years exhibiting and dealing the work of other artists, we were excited to hear that The John Davies Gallery will be putting on the first ever solo show of Davies’ work, opening 29 March 2025. We asked Davies about how this show has come to be, and why now? Davies explained;
“Had my life gone according to plan, this exhibition should have taken place more than 45 years ago. Painting is what I set out to do in the 1970’s, but the dealing and the running of the gallery took over. With the benefit of hindsight, I should have been more disciplined and used my time more carefully. But I have had some wonderful years handling some glorious paintings and staging successful exhibitions.”
During the COVID lockdowns, so many of us used the extra time to start a new hobby, learn a new craft or re-visit creative pursuits that had fallen to the wayside, and Davies was no exception. The social distancing rules during the pandemic provided him with the ideal opportunity to go out into the countryside and draw, working up a detailed drawing in situ, then painting directly into that back at the studio.
John Davies, Sweet Light at Lemington Lakes, April 2020 (watercolour, 41cm x 30cm)
The title of his upcoming exhibition, Two Aspects of an Artist, refers not to the dual aspects of Davies’ career – as gallerist and art dealer, and as artist – but to the different aspects of his painting style – his earlier, pointillist-style landscapes and his more recent abstract compositions. Davies explained that both his landscapes and abstracts speak of “thoughts behind appearances” and how the time-consuming process of his paintings brings home the “shortness of time” and the importance of maximising our opportunities.
Exhibition details
Two Aspects of an Artist, features nearly 50 paintings, including 28 landscape paintings and around 20 authoritative abstract paintings. Paintings range in price from £575 to £8,500. The gallery will also display the works of other featured artists during this period. A 32-page fully illustrated catalogue is available for £15, including postage.
Exhibition Dates: 29 March – 3 May 2025
Private View: Saturday 29 March, 12pm-5pm and Sunday 30 March, 11.30am-3pm
Location: John Davies Gallery, The Old Dairy Plant, Fosseway Business Park, Moreton-in-Marsh, GL56 9NQ
Gallery Hours: Wednesday – Friday 10.30am – 4.30pm and Saturday 11am – 4pm
For more information or to request a catalogue, contact:
John Davies Gallery
Tel: 01608 652 255
Email: gallery@johndaviesgallery.com
Website: www.johndaviesgallery.com
With thanks to John Davies and Celia Broughton of the John Davies Gallery. This interview has been edited for clarity, length and readability.