david pirrie / ian tan gallery 2014
DESCRIPTION
David Pirrie holds a studio arts diploma from Capilano University, British Columbia, and obtained his B.F.A. from Concordia University, Quebec, in 1993. One of the constant variables in Pirrie’s work, has been a close analysis and detailed study of his subject. His new work continues a scientific inquiry of mountain topography in Western Canada. Like a form of cataloguing, the paintings and drawings are a survey on nature, technology, and the mapping of geological time. Pirrie’s work has been included in exhibitions in Edmonton, Calgary, Montreal, Seattle and Vancouver. He was awarded the Canada Council Explorations Grant and a Project Grant from B.C. Cultural Services. Pirrie was the subject of a 2010 film Landscape and Time which documented his process over the course of a year. He has received extensive coverage in print media and exhibition catalogues as well as being featured in several interviews. His work is included in many esteemed private and public collections.TRANSCRIPT
2202 GRANVILLE ST AT WEST 6TH AVE VANCOUVER 604 738 1077
iantangallery
Cover: Mt. Philips, Oil on canvas, 32” x 64”Mt. Sir Macdonald 1, Oil on canvas, 36″ x 48″
DAVID PIRRIEThe Mountain Survey Project, 2014
Creating artwork that is multi-dimensional and conceptually layered, Vancouver based painter David Pirrie formulates multi-faceted insight while still producing visually engaging pictures that are elegant and imaginative. Influenced by the rich history of Canadian landscape painters, Pirrie employs bold colouring and opaque dots to create his signature pop art mountains, monumentalizing the majesty of the individual mountain by removing it from the context of its surrounding topography. His paintings draw attention to ideas regarding framing and mapping - a conceptually self-reflexive technique, reminding the viewer of the handmade aspect of complex painting. By bringing the colour of the background into the immediate foreground via the dots, Pirrie abolishes perspective, situating the mountains within and without the picture plane. Pirrie’s work approaches scientific inquiry as his dots reference map coordinates, pointing to the intersection between human time and geological time.
Left: Mt. Monarch, N.E. Right: Mt. Monarch, S.E.Oil on canvas, 30″ x 30″
Mt. AlbertaOil on canvas, 63″ x 88″
Mt. Saskatchewan, NOil on canvas, 48″ x 54″
Mt. HookerOil on canvas, 32″ x 64″
Mt. Sir Macdonald 2Oil on canvas, 36″ x 48″
Mt. Saskatchewan SEOil on canvas, 48″ x 54″
Left: Mt. Sir Sanford 1, Right: Mt. Sir Sanford 2Oil on canvas, 24″ x 24″
Devil’s ThumbOil on canvas, 30″ x 30″
Mt. DunkirkOil on canvas, 52″ x 75″
Left: Mt. Sir Macdonald, Right: Mt. SaskatchewanOil on canvas, 24″ x 24″
The Devil’s ThumbOil on canvas, 63″ x 63″
Mt. Saskatchewan SEOil on canvas, 48″ x 54″
DAVID PIRRIESelected Biography
EDUCATION Bachelor of Fine Arts, Concordia University, Montreal, 1993
Diploma of Studio Arts, Capilano College, Vancouver, 1988
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS Mountain Survey Project, Ian Tan Gallery, Vancouver, 2014
Codified Topographies, Douglas Udell Gallery, Vancouver, 2008 Western Drift, Simon Fraser University, Teck Gallery, Vancouver, 2006
Risk Analysis, Douglas Udell Gallery, Vancouver, 2006New Works: State Gallery, Vancouver, 2005
Subduction Zone, Verge Gallery, Vancouver, 2004The Loneliest Highway, Atelier 31 Gallery, Seattle, 2004
New Works: Atelier 31 Gallery, Seattle, 2002
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
Search / Re-Search, contemporary landscapes, Surrey Art Gallery, Surrey, 2008Work’n It: The Drawers, Headbones Gallery, Toronto, 2008
East / West, G.A.S Gallery, Torino, Italy, 2007Art Fiera, Bologna, Italy, 2007
Toronto International Art Fair, Douglas Udell Gallery, Toronto, 2007Fall Show, Douglas Udell Gallery, Vancouver, 2007
Road Runners, Kelowna Art Gallery, Kelowna, 2006
iantangallery2202 GRANVILLE ST AT WEST 6TH AVE VANCOUVER 604 738 1077 [email protected]
WWW.IANTANGALLERY.COM