David Lock

David Lock’s paintings explore men and masculinities in a process of becoming. The paintings utilise a collagist approach. In the process of creating his ‘Misfit’ paintings, he makes collages culled from advertisements and imagery from mainstream magazines. In their making, the collages and subsequent paintings have a performative quality. 

Lock’s hope with the ‘Misfits’ is to create portraiture characterised by a decentralising, non­hierarchical space that seeks to ask questions about difference.

He is investigating how to create a multitude of subject positions, upon which signifiers are free to float, shifting identification from one fragment to another. In this sense the paintings resist a single reading or viewpoint, and instead any reading is unmoored, fluid and contingent. 

A sense of vulnerability is reinforced by the paintings being composed from collaged elements. 

Lock’s motivations for the use of the male, exposes an underlying uncertainty about the male’s status in contemporary culture and the role he should fulfill within it.


Lock graduated with an MA in Fine Art from Goldsmiths in 2001, following a BA (Hons) in Fine Art from the University of Reading. 

His painting ‘El Muniria’ was selected for the ‘John Moores Painting Prize, 2018’, after which, the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool purchased the painting for their permanent collection. In 2019 he was a Prizewinner in the ‘Creekside Open’, selected by Sacha Craddock at APT Gallery, London.

Lock is a recipient of the prestigious Abbey award at the British School at Rome in 2011-22 

Recent exhibitions include ‘between parts undone – Paintings by David Lock, Gavin Maughfling and J. A Nicholls’ at studio1.1, London, ‘Telescope’, curated by Nigel Cooke at Jerwood Gallery, Hastings, Rules of Freedom’, curated by Rosalind Davis, Collyer Bristow Gallery, London and ‘John Moores Painting Prize’ 2018 at Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. He had a solo show ‘Fragmented Eros’ at studio1.1, London in 2018.

He is currently working on a commission for ‘Hospital Rooms’ for 2020.

He lives and works in London.

artist’s website