Dan petley
Dan Petley’s work addresses everyday culture, participation and self-organisation. He explores how artworks can gain new meaning or value over time, retaining the artist’s subjectivity. He brings a collector’s love of improvisation and immediacy into dialogue with continuity and authorship, creating artworks and exhibitions that merge distillations of pre-modern iconography and emblematic traditions with lost and discarded items.
By bringing mythological narratives into dialogue with the quietly resilient spirit of everyday humanity, found objects and forgotten places are transformed into contemporary sites of shared authorship. This has evolved into a multidisciplinary reciprocal process that explores hierarchy and cohesion in the creation of communal public work.
Click a poster to see exhibition/ residency
Current Projects
Surrogate. A two week display showing my third Surrogate piece, Paul in the Meanwhile Space at Gloucester Eastgate Shopping Centre. 30 September – 17 October
Any Bright Ideas. An exhibition in Dog & Bone phone box gallery in Brighton, to show the paintings and masking tape sculptures I’ve been working on in public for 12 months. Exhibition visible all day from 27 September – late October
World Holy Grail Final. A free all day concert with musicians of all abilities at the Red Lion in St George, Bristol BS5 9BP. 19 July
Showcase For Artists. An exhibition featuring 14 artists who I have met through making art outside of official structures at the window of Sparks, Broadmead, Bristol City Centre BS1 3JA. 5 – 30 August
Continuing work on Surrogate and various music pieces while securing Brick Project work for 2026 and 2027
2026 Projects
Gadshill Road Brick Project. Eastville, Bristol. A colossal project, which succeeded despite massive setbacks and very limited funding. June
You Must Change Your Life. A life size sculpture pushes the Numinous project forward, installed at Turbo Island Bristol throughout May
2025 Projects
Meadow Vale Mandala, Speedwell and Hillfields, Bristol. Our winter project with Meadow Vale and Hillfields Community Centres resulted in an outdoor display at BS5 7RF.
St John Street/ Broadway Brick Project, Bridgwater. In July 2025, we invited the public to individually paint 2300 bricks in Bridgwater town centre.
A residency and live workspace satirising relationships to ritual cult value in contemporary art practice at Snuffy Jack’s, 800 Fishponds Rd, Bristol BS16 3TE, 6 February – 5 March 2025.
Funded through Quartet Community Foundation’s Express Grant Programme November 2024 – March 2025
2024 Projects
Westgate Street Brick Project, huge Brick Project activity funded by Arts Council England and Barnwood Trust resulting in two community created public art pieces in Gloucester.
Gloucester Cathedral Summer of Mindfulness Mandala, interactive workshop sessions ending with display in Cloisters gallery July – September 2024
(Mis)fortune, a collaborative residency and live workspace with Alaric Hobbs at Artspace Lifespace’s Park Street Vestibule, Bristol City Hall 7 May- 6 June 2024
Wild Goose Rainbow Wall, collaborative project with clients of a drop-in centre resulting in a permanent display October 2023 – February 2024