— ABOUT —
Dylan Lisle (b. 1978, Darlington, County Durham) is a figurative painter. He studied at Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen, graduating in 2000, and has since developed a practice rooted in classical techniques with a contemporary edge.
Lisle worked from studios in Aberdeen and Edinburgh for many years before relocating to Manchester, where he has been based for the past 13 years, working from 1853 Studios in Oldham. His work has been exhibited extensively across Scotland and England, with solo exhibitions in London, Edinburgh, and Aberdeen, as well as group shows in New York, London, Eton, Edinburgh, and Glasgow.
Drawing on fairytales, mythology, and folklore, Dylan Lisle weaves an atmosphere of mythic ambivalence and post‑apocalyptic unease. His paintings—steeped in chiaroscuro, anatomical precision, and classical oil‑painting techniques—evoke worlds on the brink: the decline of human reason, civilisation in ruins, and nature quietly reclaiming its domain .
Lisle’s practice is rooted in an academic devotion to oil painting—employing underpainting, glazing, and dry‑brush methods inspired by Baroque masters such as Caravaggio, Zurbarán, and Titian . By rendering figures in drama‑laden poses and enveloping them in symbolic flora and animal symbolism, Lisle explores themes of decline, regeneration, vanity, and mortality.
In an era flooded with fleeting digital imagery, Lisle questions whether true depth of engagement with art still exists. His work confronts the erosion of sustained visual contemplation, urging viewers to reconsider the nature and purpose of painting in a capitalist, socially mediated world. It asks: are we still willing to ask meaningful questions—or are we content with shallow aesthetic impact?
Through evocative allusions and technical mastery, Lisle’s paintings seek to rekindle a dialogue with deeper myth, behind the gloss of image culture.