Now, Henry has returned to the Glasgow Print Studio this month, for his fourth exhibition at the venue where he has been a member for 25 years.
Speaking to The Herald, the artist and printmaker explains the inspiration for his latest set of prints.
“I’ve done shows in the United States and across North America,” he tells me over the phone, his voice rising as he thinks back to his travels over the last three decades.
The Glasgow School of Art graduate’s style has evolved throughout this time; from retro and monochromatic prints to depictions of animals and other creatures.
Yet, it was during the Covid-19 pandemic where the inspiration for Damian Henry’s Glasgow came into being.
He says: “During lockdown, I started to do commissioned prints of people’s houses.
“Now, I’m focusing on Glasgow landmarks and street views — for example, the Botanics and the University.
“I take photos and draw them at home, and then process them at the studio with all the necessary chemicals. I print them at the Glasgow Print Studio.”
According to the gallery, the prints include depictions of Glasgow University, the Tolbooth & Mercat Cross, Trongate, Riverside Museum, Kelvinbridge and the Duke of Wellington with a cone on his head.
“These are not architectural renderings,” a listing for the prints, which begin at £125, reads, “their power lies in vivid images of Glasgow’s buildings seen through the eyes of an artist.”
Of course, no one can be great without the greatest of others, and this is true for Henry.
The printmaker, who has scoliosis after injuring his back eight years ago, is joined by two worthy assistants, Alistair Gow and Ian McNicol, who assist with technical aspects of the work.
Henry aims to capture the ‘dynamism and vibrancy’ of Scotland’s largest city through his work, which comes at an opportune time — the 850th anniversary of Glasgow’s founding.
He also wants to evoke the ‘familiar feeling’ sparked by recognition of buildings long forgotten.
Henry tells me the story of a friend who bought one of his prints of Glasgow University’s reading room.
“He met his wife there, so the building has great memories. The print brought that back for him.”
As a Glasgow Caledonian graduate, I have never been inside the reading room, yet listening to Henry’s soft spoken words, I understand exactly what he means.
But wait, you might ask, what about the other side of Glasgow, the slightly rumpled city, one which has dirt and rats and dust to contend with?
Last week, I took to the streets on a peaceful Saturday afternoon. Walking through the West End, I reflected on the dual nature of the city beneath my feet.
Imposing stone edifices bordered by garbage filled alleys, rats in Kelvingrove Park, the charm and character of the Barras: each tells a story.
These are the complex realities of living in a metropolis, I conclude, and that is the city that Henry wants to show.
Fellow artist Neil Baxter said of Henry’s exhibition folio: ‘Very early in his career as a printmaker, Damian Henry kindly gave me a print of a cat. It is a charming cat and quite unlike most cats of my acquaintance, a cat utterly without guile or calculation.
“I’m not mad keen on cats, but I love my print.”
Baxter added: “Henry has turned his attention to some of Glasgow’s best known buildings. His work is still without contrivance.
“Yet these prints, some essentially coloured line drawings, others blockier with the heavier lines of woodcut or linocut prints, all using a characteristically spare palette, are a clear advance from my guileless cat, demonstrating Henry’s skill, proficiency and sophistication as a print artist.”
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As our conversation draws to a close, Henry tells me: “I want to focus on the good parts of Glasgow, I don’t need to think about the bad aspects.
“I have always found Glasgow a great place to live. People come in all shapes and guises and the buildings reflect that.”
Truer words were never spoken.
Damian Henry’s Glasgow can be viewed at the Glasgow Print Studio at 103 Trongate until the 1st of November.
A full list of the prints on offer can be viewed here.
