Biography

Jack Davison depicts the human figure, architecture, animals, objects, landscapes and townscapes; yet his subject is always photography itself. Uncovering the surreal and the sensual in everyday life, Davison's use of chiaroscuro, framing and exposure as instruments of abstraction draws on the history of photography. Parallels have also been made with Max Ernst and Man Ray, keying him into a Surrealist inheritance.

 

Davison received his first major commission from Kathy Ryan, Photography Director of The New York Times Magazine, in 2016. That same year, he published his first monograph, Photographs (Loose Joints), now in its third reissue. This was followed by Song Flowers, a collaboration with the fashion label Marni (2020); Ol Pejeta, centred on the world's last two northern white rhinos at the Kenyan wildlife conservancy of the same name (2021); and Portraits, London: 13–15 November (2026). 

 

In 2024, he directed and premiered his first moving image work, A is For Ant, a living alphabet created in collaboration with award-winning production designer Shona Heath. In the same year, his work entered the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London. 

 

His solo exhibitions include Portraits: 14–16 November, his second solo exhibition with Cob Gallery, London (2026); Photographic Etchings at Cob Gallery, London (2022); and Revisiting Pictures at Foam Fotografiemuseum, Amsterdam (2016). Selected group exhibitions include Animal Model at Photo Elysée, Lausanne, Switzerland (2026); Animal Model at Les Rencontres d'Arles, France (2026); and Best of the Night of the Year at Les Rencontres d'Arles, France (2026), featuring A is For Ant.

 

EDUCATION
2012 BA English Literature, Warwick University, UK
 
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2026 Portraits: 14–16 November, Cob Gallery, London, UK
2022 Photographic Etchings, Cob Gallery, London, UK
2016 Revisiting Pictures, Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam, Netherlands
 
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 
2026 Animal Model, Photo Elysée, Lausanne, Switzerland:
2026 Animal Model, Rencontres d'Arles, France
2026 Night of the Year, Rencontres d'Arles, France
2025 In Tandem, Cob Gallery, London, UK
2021 Jack Davison, Omer Fast, Frida Orupabo, Haus der Photographie, Deichtorhallen, Hamburg, Germany 
 
SELECTED ART FAIRS
2026 Paris Photo, Cob Gallery, Paris, France
2025 Paris Photo, Cob Gallery, Paris, France
2024 Paris Photo, Cob Gallery, Paris, France
2023 Photo London, Cob Gallery, London, UK
 
PROJECTS
2024, A is for Ant, Farley's House and Gallery / Lee Miller Archives, Sussex, UK
2024 Moncler Presents - An Invitation To Dream, Milan, Italy
 
COLLECTIONS
National Portrait Gallery, London, UK
Sir Elton John and David Furnish Collection,
Works
  • Jack Davison, Untitled, 2025
    Jack Davison
    Untitled, 2025
    Photopolymer intaglio
    Paper size: 50 x 38 cm
    Plate size: 14.5 x 15.5 cm
    Edition of 10 plus 2 artist's proofs
  • Jack Davison, Portraits: 14-16 November (Gregory), 2024 (printed 2026)
    Jack Davison
    Portraits: 14-16 November (Gregory), 2024 (printed 2026)
    Photopolymer intaglio
    29.7 x 21 cm
    11 3/4 x 8 1/4 in
    Edition of 3 plus 2 artist's proofs
  • Jack Davison, Portraits: 14-16 November (Annie), 2024 (printed 2025)
    Jack Davison
    Portraits: 14-16 November (Annie), 2024 (printed 2025)
    Photopolymer intaglio
    29.7 x 21 cm
    11 3/4 x 8 1/4 in
    Edition of 3 plus 2 artist's proofs
  • Jack Davison, Portraits: 14-16 November (Hugo), 2024 (printed 2025)
    Jack Davison
    Portraits: 14-16 November (Hugo), 2024 (printed 2025)
    Photopolymer intaglio
    29.7 x 21 cm
    11 3/4 x 8 1/4 in
    Edition of 3 plus 2 artist's proofs
  • Jack Davison, Untitled, 2024
    Jack Davison
    Untitled, 2024
    Multilayered pigment print on gelatin coated paper
    79.5 x 67.5 cm
    31 1/4 x 26 5/8 in
    Edition of 3 plus 2 artist's proofs
  • Jack Davison, Untitled, 2024
    Jack Davison
    Untitled, 2024
    Multilayered pigment print on gelatin coated paper
    79.6 x 68.5 cm
    31 3/8 x 27 in
    Edition of 3 plus 2 artist's proofs
  • Jack Davison, Untitled, 2024
    Jack Davison
    Untitled, 2024
    Multilayered pigment print on gelatin coated paper
    79.8 x 63.5 cm
    31 3/8 x 25 in
    Edition of 3 plus 2 artist's proofs
  • Jack Davison, Untitled , 2023
    Jack Davison
    Untitled , 2023
    Photopolymer intaglio
    Image size: 35 x 26.4 cm
    Paper size : 76.3 x 57 cm
    Edition of 7 plus 2 artist's proofs
  • Jack Davison, Untitled , 2023
    Jack Davison
    Untitled , 2023
    Photopolymer intaglio
    Image size 15 x 12.5 cm
    Paper size: 50 x 38.5 cm
    Edition of 10 plus 2 artist's proofs
  • Jack Davison, Untitled, 2023
    Jack Davison
    Untitled, 2023
    Photopolymer intaglio
    Image size: 37 x 45 cm
    Paper size: 77 x 101.7 cm
    Edition of 3 plus 2 artist's proofs
  • Jack Davison, Untitled, 2022
    Jack Davison
    Untitled, 2022
    Photopolymer intaglio
    Image size: 15 x 11.5 cm
    Paper size: 50 x 38 cm
    Edition of 10 plus 2 artist's proofs
  • Jack Davison, Untitled, 2022
    Jack Davison
    Untitled, 2022
    Photopolymer intaglio
    Image size: 15 x 11.5 cm
    Paper size: 50 x 38 cm
    Edition of 10 plus 3 artist's proofs
  • Jack Davison, Untitled, 2022
    Jack Davison
    Untitled, 2022
    Photopolymer intaglio
    Image size: 34.5 x 27 cm
    Paper size: 76 x 57 cm
    Edition of 7 plus 2 artist's proofs
  • Jack Davison, Untitled, 2022
    Jack Davison
    Untitled, 2022
    Photopolymer intaglio
    Image size: 35 x 26 cm
    Paper size: 76 x 57 cm
    Edition of 7 plus 2 artist's proofs
  • Jack Davison, Untitled, 2022
    Jack Davison
    Untitled, 2022
    Photopolymer intaglio
    Image size: 52 x 38.5 cm
    Paper size: 103 x 77 cm
    Edition of 3 plus 2 artist's proofs
  • Jack Davison, Untitled, 2022
    Jack Davison
    Untitled, 2022
    Photopolymer intaglio
    Image size: 51.5 x 38.5 cm
    Paper size: 102.5 x 77 cm
    Edition of 3 plus 2 artist's proofs
Exhibitions
Installation Views
Publications
Press | Bibliography
2025 Le Monde
2025 POLKA
2025 The Observer
2023 Things to do in London this weekend (May 12 - 15) - Evening Standard, Mike Daw
2023 Photo London 2023: Top five fair highlights - 1000 Words, Alessandro Merola
2022 Five Exhibitions To Frame Your Autumn - Financial Times HTSI, Baya Simons, Augustine Hammond and Victoria Woodcock
2022 Photographer Jack Davison Finds Light In The Darkness - I-D Magazine, Zoe Whitfield 
2022 Jack Davison's Alchemical Photographic Etchings - Another magazine, Finn Blythe
2022 The Ten Most Visually Arresting Photo Projects of 2022 - Another magazine, Adam Murray
2022 Art Shows To Leave The House For This October - Dazed, Ashleigh Kane
2022 London Photography Exhibitions: The Must Sees For Autumn 2022 - Wallpaper, Martha Elliot, Sophie Gladstone
2022 The Elusive Power of Cate Blanchett - The New York Times, Jordan Kisner
2022 Jack Davison Investigates The Collective Unconscious - Document Journal, Camille Sojit Pejcha
2020 Capturing Obscurity - Oxford Review of Books, Altair Brandon-Salmon