1942–2018
David Spiller was a contemporary British painter best known for his graphic, flattened depictions of cartoon characters. Spiller’s art is a blend of styles, mixing the hard-hitting immediacy of Pop art – its bright colours, punchy texts and clean lines – with a deceptively simple expressionism. To these striking images, he has added another layer of intuitive freehand texts that include lines from his favourite songs (by the Beatles, Bob Dylan and other recognisable pop numbers that have seeped into his consciousness). Simultaneously fun and sincere, his work captures the imagination of adults and children alike. In his work, Spiller brings together a combination of Pop Art influences with the more painterly Art Brut techniques of artists such as Jean Dubuffet.
