The exhibition will consist of two series of paintings, both made simultaneously during the past year and a video projection.
Gallery One will consist of eight minimal paintings with encaustic monochrome surfaces, that are ethereal and evocative in mood. The seduction of these layered surfaces and the slight palette suggest a reference to modern art history and design.
Gallery Two comprises five small figurative portrait paintings, which are reminiscent of vintage illustrations often seen in early learning text-books. The softly drawn portrayal of each subject evokes an innocence of a particular era, which interpreted in modern contemporary society can be read with irony. Root has injected extra humour into some of these works by subtly distorting the proportions of the figure so as to suggest a melancholic protagonist.
In the lower gallery, Root will be showing a recent video piece entitled ‘Heavy Winter’ which is documentation of an artificial snowstorm synchronized with an audio recording of the poem ‘Aubade’ by Phillip Larkin.
Derek Root lives and works in Vancouver, Canada.
Recent exhibitions include Confidence, Linoping Contemporary Art Museum, Linoping, Sweden, Hyims, Scrims and Accompaniments, Monte Clark Gallery, Vancouver and Drawing the World: Masters to Hipsters, Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver.