Goff was born in 1949 in the small South Wales town of Brynmawr, where his artistic interests were first noticed and encouraged by his very supportive art teacher, Ken Jones, at the local grammar school. On leaving school, Goff trained at the West of England College of Art, Bristol, Cardiff College of Art and Cardiff University. He then taught at St Illtyd’s College, Cardiff until moving into the management of education for a number of local authorities in South East Wales. This became his full-time occupation for many years.
Since then Goff has acquired a confidence in his own understanding of art to paint for his own purpose, in his own way. Fortunately, this has proven to be very successful and enabled him to explore a completely new career as a full-time professional artist.
His first major exhibition was at the Royal Cambrian Academy in 2000 when he was selected to exhibit alongside the likes of Sir Kyffin Williams and William Selwyn. A great honour and an important start.
Most of his work has personal recollections and experience as the foundation. They are ‘generalised’ in a way which makes their appeal extremely wide-ranging. “I often find myself linking past events with the development of my paintings and using familiar imagery to reinforce the connection”
The area in which he has lived and worked, has provided a constant source of inspiration. Goff works from a studio in his native town of Brynmawr and continues to appreciate the direct links with his ‘origins’ which provide the stimulation for the majority of his paintings. These combine elements of the everyday landscape with complex emotional values, giving his work a unique quality, which is enhanced by his particular style of painting on heavily textured canvas.
His expressive forms are distinctive, yet allow a degree of personal interpretation. The atmospheric qualities he creates often serve to stimulate the imagination and memory of others. Goff’s paintings tend to reflect the mood or atmosphere of events and locations, rather than being a purely pictorial representation. They are about his thoughts and memories, illustrated with references to the places he knows so well. In order to truly appreciate his work and understand the reasoning behind the development of the artwork, awareness of the story involved is essential.
A prolific Welsh artist, his original art is in great demand and his work is established as being amongst the most sought after in the contemporary art market in Wales. In fact the only originals for sale are his latest paintings. Limited edition prints (50 in each edition) are available for the majority of his images. New paintings are eagerly anticipated by an avid group of collectors and enthusiasts, regularly being sold, often in advance.
His work is included in international corporate and private collections. The arrival of a new painting is often the cause for great excitement amongst his many collectors. Many are purchased as an investment and some collectors are now reselling their paintings for at least ten times what they paid some years ago, demonstrating the increase in value of Goff’s artwork.
Due to his originals selling so rapidly, he has a standard sized range of limited edition prints on fine art paper and canvas. These will make his work accessible to more people and at affordable prices. We are currently updating our online shop through a new website which will be available soon. If you wish to make a purchase please email Christine – dantergoff@gmail.com. Secure payments can be made over the phone using the card machine at the gallery or payment can be made by cheque
An additional range of his paintings has also been selected by leading fine art publisher Senecio Editions of Oxford, who supply hand-embellished, limited edition prints to the fine art trade. These are also available through Goff.