David Rae is part of a growing interest in the possibility of unspoken narratives through the use of realism and subtraction. His paintings offer a remarkable sense of space through the realistic rendition of textures and perspective, and behind this curtain of reality the figureless, empty spaces suggest an uneasy absence. Selected for RSA New Contemporaries 2018, RSA Annual Exhibition 2023, shortlisted for the Scottish Landscape Awards 2023 and Gilchrist-Fisher Award 2024.