Archer Davies, The sofa at the studio on the Rue La Condamine, 1870 (after Bazille), 2024, oil on linen, 23cm x 27.5cm. Courtesy of MARS and the artist.

MARS Gallery presents Theft, a new series of paintings by Melbourne-based artist, Archer Davies.

Tracing a link between the great Masters such as Titian, Velasquez and Manet, Archer Davies paints ‘from life’, drawing inspiration from a fascination with historical portraiture, still life and cinema. Embodied in a style that is both gestural and realistic, his paintings are intended as a seductive visual poem. Staged theatrical compositions are reminiscent of a cinematic mise-en-scene, where the protagonists exist in their own mysterious world. Narrative threads are woven in a gentle, poetic way rather than a linear ‘story’, intentionally leaving interpretation open for the viewer.