Colin Davidson, Stranger

Château La Coste is pleased to present Stranger, an exhibition of sculpture by Northern Irish artist Colin Davidson, on view from 7 March to 21 June 2026 in the Pavillon Renzo Piano.

Internationally acclaimed for his vivid and emotionally charged portrait paintings, Davidson here presents a significant new development in his practice. While Stranger marks his first major body of three-dimensional work, the sculptures remain deeply rooted in the artist’s longstanding engagement with paint as a tactile and expressive medium.

The exhibition brings together six figurative works, the result of five years of research and studio experimentation. Each sculpture originates as a small-scale three-dimensional study, modelled in oil paint on armatures, before being digitally scanned and enlarged through 3D printing The final surfaces are re-sculpted and hand-finished with acrylic and oil paint, preserving the immediacy and physicality of the medium.

Standing nearly two metres high—slightly larger than life—the figures confront the viewer with a quiet, enigmatic presence. Unlike the identifiable subjects of Davidson’s painted portraits, these forms remain anonymous, their identities unresolved, existing as strangers.

Installed within the Pavillon Renzo Piano, the sculptures are illuminated by shifting natural light. As the sun moves throughout the day, the relationship between figure, space, and viewer subtly evolves, inviting an open-ended and contemplative narrative.