SAVE THE DATE | OPENING RECEPTION: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2026, 5:00-7:00PM
David Farrer was born in Leeds and had a very happy family life as the youngest of four siblings in the days where semi-feral children were still free to find adventure and imaginations were not trapped within the constraints of four suburban walls. It was a world full of ‘re-use and repurpose’ championed by The Wombles & Bagpuss (both popular British children’s shows); both were early influences on the aspiring young artist and whose message remain relevant to this day.
He was raised in a village between Wetherby and Harrogate called Spofforth. The village has a river, a castle to climb, and the space to dream. He has lived in Masham, in beautiful Wensleydale, Knaresborough, rural Surrey, the Cotswolds, and more recently in a village near Oxford. He loves the countryside, villages and open spaces, all of which have provided inspiration of some kind. He studied a fine art degree in Sunderland and The Hague, majoring in printmaking and graduating in 1990.
Africa is central to his muse, having spent invaluable time on Safari, collecting copious reference notes for his sculptures before branching out into what subjects the rest of the world had to offer (both great and small, heroic or diminutive). The African way of ‘necessity being the mother of invention’ is echoed in his work, with text and images visible in his finished pieces. To reuse is central to his ethos, as is to gently subvert the trophy hunting that unchecked had decimated the continent’s fauna, long before the ‘enlightened’ 21st century came to pass.
Farrer has exhibited internationally and his work has been acquired by a wide variety of people and companies. Collectors include Patek Philippe in Geneva, Fortnum & Masons in London, the novelist John Le Carre, and the late actress Carrie Fisher.
