Ian Davenport came into the world in Kent, England, in 1966. He earned his degree from Goldsmiths College of Art in London in 1988, emerging as part of the Young British Artists cohort. That same year, he took part in the groundbreaking Freeze exhibition, a defining moment for his generation. In 1991, at an exceptionally young age, he was named a Turner Prize nominee—the youngest ever—and by 1999, he’d claimed a prize at the John Moores Exhibition in Liverpool. Just two years post-graduation, in 1990, he held his debut solo exhibition at Waddington Galleries in London.

Renowned for his abstract creations, Davenport delves deeply into the interplay of process and material. In recent times, his signature style involves meticulously pouring streams of acrylic paint onto a surface, letting them cascade and collect in pools at the base. This method enables him to craft intricate patterns of color and line. Over the last decade, he’s expanded into screenprinting and etching, amassing a striking collection of graphic pieces.

Davenport’s work has traveled the globe, with significant exhibitions at venues like Dundee Contemporary Arts in 1999, Ikon Gallery in Birmingham in 2004, Tate Liverpool in 2000, and Dallas Contemporary in Texas in 2018. His large-scale commissions stand out too—take Poured Lines: Southwark Street in London from 2006, a 48-meter-wide painting splashed across a bridge, ranking among the UK’s biggest permanent public artworks. At the 2017 Venice Biennale, he unveiled an installation of over 1,000 vibrant stripes, a Swatch commission paired with a unique Swatch Art watch. In 2016, he teamed up with Meissen to hand-paint porcelain plates for South London Gallery and designed a bespoke bag for Christian Dior’s Lady Art project. Back in 2010, he immersed himself in a residency at The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation in Connecticut, USA.

His pieces grace prestigious collections worldwide, including the Arts Council of Great Britain, Tate in London, Centre Pompidou in Paris, National Museum Wales in Cardiff, Von der Heydt Museum in Wuppertal, Museum of Modern Art in La Spezia, Borusan Art Gallery in Istanbul, Museum of Modern Art in New York, and Dallas Museum of Art in Texas. Thames & Hudson published the first comprehensive book on his career in 2014. For his original prints, Cristea Roberts Gallery serves as his sole global representative.