Born in Wigan in 1971, Darren Almond graduated from the Winchester School of Art in 1993. He now lives and works in London. In 1995, his first solo exhibition was held, since then he has been involved in several solo and group exhibitions worldwide. His works is represented by the White Cube, some are included in the collections of some major art institutions including MOMA, MCA and Met. He was nominated for the Turner Prize in 2005.
Influenced by Conceptualism, Darren’s works has an emphasis on the expression of ideas. He interprets a variety of forms of works including photography, video, installation, sculpture and painting. camera lens reflects intuitive feelings of daily life scenes and events, capturing regional cultural differences; the directly adoption of mechanical products such as clocks and fans appeared in households since 1970s, emphasizing the passing of time; nameplates of mechanical trains which Darren has been obsessed about since his childhood, are applied to express the poetic aspect of words. Fullmoon photography series are his well-known works. Crossing remote physical distances, Darren explores natural landscapes which appeared in the historic Romanticism paintings. With long time exposures of at least 15 minutes, the landscape is dimly illuminated by moonlight, the flow of water and mist haze the edges, together creating a meditative space with mysterious atmosphere.
By quoting daily life objects, places and events, Darren explores their subjectivity and symbolistic meanings, inviting audiences to feel the behind personal and historic memories regarding to the concept of time and space. In the last decade, he started to explore in the painting field. Number series by metal materials and Grid Paper series by ink, showing the transformation from the confliction between objective orders and subjective expressions into a balanced relationship. They feature Darren’s attitude shift from quoting ‘readymade’ products or defined symbols, into more straightforward romantic poetic self-expressions.