“I like to think of my paintings as reminiscent of the magic kaleidoscopes of my childhood. I would hold the kaleidoscope up to my eyes, and when I rotated the end of the tube, it would transform whatever view I pointed it at into magical patterns of light, color and form”.

David Dellagi’s practice aims primarily to “sculpt with light and colour to create a dynamic, three-dimensional abstract universe that has some optical connection to figuration”. Through the intricate combinations of geometric polygons the artist explores the notion of dynamism on the surface of the canvas. The starting point of each painting is always the creation of an analogue collage, which Dellagi then manipulates through various digital and pictorial processes.

“I don’t create a world out of scratch, but rather – adhering to the possibilities of the collage – recombine already existing elements in new and unexpected ways. This gives me the opportunity to incorporate a layered visual multiverse of cultural and historical references that are not always obvious on the surface, but rather exist inside each painting, as secrets to be discovered by the spectator”.

A member of the BKF (Danish Visual Artists) and the Danske Grafikere (Danish Graphics Association), David Dellagi has taught at the Københavns Kunstskole in Copenhagen and the Rudersdal Billedskole in Rudersdal as well as being a guest lecturer at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and the Bjørn Ignatius Øckenholts Billedskole. In 2019 the film magazine Balthazar art publishes his article “The independent filmmaker and the institution – The myth about Harry Smith”. Between 2014 and 2015 he directs together with Adam Fenton two curatorial projects called: Reality Hype Phase I: Mr. Banks Has a Mental Breakdown and Reality Hype Phase II: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Reality.

His solo exhibitions in Copenhagen (Denmark) include Recent Paintings (2022) at Galleri Benoni, Apollo (2022) at The Social Space, David Dellagi (2020) at Politikens Boghal, Closed on Mondays (2018) at CGK Centre for Contemporary Art, Carnivore (2013) at the Danish Graphics Association and The Umbilical Eye (2012) at Marie Kirkegaard Gallery. Abroad Inner Beauty (2015) at the No Format Contemporary Visual Art Gallery in London. This coming year, La Galeria Victor Lope will organise the artist’s first solo exhibition in Spain. Dellagi has also participated in numerous group exhibitions in different galleries and international institutions such as the Milk Gallery in New York, the London galleries Apiary Gallery and Art Hub Gallery, the Metropolitan Casino in Mexico City, and the Circus Gallery in Los Angeles.