DAVE MCDERMOTT WEST MAY 15 - JUNE 27, 2020 | KEIZERSGRACHT 241, AMS | GRIMM
DAVE MCDERMOTT WEST EXHIBITION Friday, May 15th until Saturday, June 27th, 2020
Throughout my practice in general, I continue to be interested in the possibilities of the meta-allegorical in painting. Allegory being the relationship of a single symbol to a ‘thing symbolized’, I have always been interested in going beyond that and creating works where multiple symbols/ordering systems exist in the work simultaneously, all working together to require a certain balancing act of interpretation and discovery on the part of the viewer. In other words, the paintings themselves do not present the simple key of one to one translation that allegory does. In my work, the meaning of the paintings is derived by the viewer holding all the various symbolic relationships present in the work in one’s head, all at the same time. I have emphasized this way of working in this show, modeling the overall physical structure of the exhibition on a sort of poetic interpretation of an alterpiece painting. I have carried over this structure of multiple works making up a whole, with one primary ‘central’ panel (in this case the gold diptych), and multiple auxiliary panels to flush out the ‘story’. Both emphasize the importance of beauty and structure in the same way. The difference (beyond religious vs. secular) is that while an altarpiece historically was a didactic object of sorts, used to relate specific religious stories to the masses and reveal meaning, my work obfuscates rhetorical meaning in order to emphasize feeling, or “a vibe” as we call it. The works in this show orbit around the mythology of going ‘West’. I come from the West, and I think its inherent qualities of openness, other-worldliness,
awkwardness, strangeness, perversion, hedonism, desire, and indecipherability have always informed my work. I credit being raised in the West with my mindset as an artist, namely to avoid didactic and illustrative tendencies, and instead to aim for a transmission of feeling... more poetry than ‘point’. Having now lived in New York for the better part of two decades, the West is simultaneously native and foreign to me, which now allows me to relate to the desire to go west, as well. The desire to head west has a long history in western culture, and particularly in America, and this history is often marked by a stark contradiction between expectation and reality. ‘The West’ is seen as paradise, a Garden of Eden, a place of rebirth, of new life and expanded prospects. But this hopeful prospect often goes sideways at some point along the way, and those seeking fecundity often find death. Whether this death is physical and final, or rather metaphorical, and thus a potential source of regeneration, is a never-ending question. In each case, it is unclear whether the story is really about end or origin, or if they are in fact the same thing. This obfuscation between beginning and end is where the show exists. The works in this show take a variety of cultural references that I relate to this contradictory myth of the West as a starting point, and then reorder them with my own language. The Garden of the Hesperides, Joyce’s The Dead, Tennyson’s The Lotos-Eaters, the ‘not quite’ idyllic paintings by Puvis de Chavannes, Manet, etc., as well as more recent, popular mythologies of the West, John Lennon’s Lost Weekend for example, his attempt
to escape himself by leaving his life behind and heading to L.A., and of course the ubiquitous desires of every young person who heads to L.A. to ‘make it’, serve as armatures on which to build new images and ideas. Ultimately ‘West’ means many things: it has an inherent ambiguity that mirrors my own way of working, and it’s that combination of openness, freedom, idyllic beauty, and unease that I’m emphasizing in these works.
Selected group exhibitions include Passing Leap, Hauser & Wirth, New York, NY (US); East Side to the West Side, The FLAG Art Foundation, New York, NY (US); Huidige Zaken, GRIMM, Amsterdam (NL); Beyond the Object, Brand New Gallery, Milan (IT); Black Medicine (Dave McDermott/Nick van Woert), Room East, New York, NY (US); Hi, Low and in Between, curated by Matthew Day Jackson & Simone Subal, GRIMM, Amsterdam (NL).
–Dave McDermott. Brooklyn, March, 2020
His work is included in various collections such as: Museum Voorlinden, Wassenaar (NL); Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection, West Palm Beach, CA (US) and the Zabludowicz Collection.
GRIMM is pleased to announce West, a new solo presentation by Dave McDermott at our Keizersgracht 241 gallery space in Amsterdam. This exhibition marks the artist’s fourth solo exhibition with the gallery. About the artist Dave McDermott (b. 1974 in Santa Cruz, CA, US) lives and works in Brooklyn, NY (US). He earned his BFA from the Academy of Art College in San Francisco, CA (US) and his MFA from Parsons School of Design in New York, NY (US). Selected solo exhibitions include: The Long Goodbye, GRIMM, New York, NY (US); The Idiot, Brennan & Griffin, New York, NY (US); Goethe’s Girlfriend, Brennan & Griffin, New York, NY (US); The Power and Influence of Joseph Wiseman, GRIMM, Amsterdam (NL); Pleasure Centre, Twig, Brussels (BE); Tot, Duve, Berlin (DE); A Rake’s Progress, GRIMM, Amsterdam (NL); The Modern Temper, Duve, Berlin (DE); Most Of What Follows Is True, Royale, San Francisco, CA (US).
DAVE MCDERMOTT
Tot 2020 Oil, canvas board, yarn on panel 63.5 x 53.3 cm | 25 x 21 in (unframed)
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detail | Tot, 2020
DAVE MCDERMOTT
Man 2020 Oil, wax, marine varnish, linen on panel 63.5 x 53.3 cm | 25 x 21 in (unframed)
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DAVE MCDERMOTT
The Golden Apple 2020 Oil, sizing lacquer, canvas board, yarn on panel 63.5 x 53.3 cm | 25 x 21 in (unframed)
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DAVE MCDERMOTT
le Flambeur 2020 Oil, sizing lacquer, canvas board, yarn on panel 63.5 x 53.3 cm | 25 x 21 in (unframed)
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DAVE MCDERMOTT
le Déjeuner (the Hermit and the Monk) 2020 Oil, oil stick, pigment, 23k gold, vinyl paint on panel Two panels. Each 121.9 x 91.4 cm | 48 x 36 in
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DAVE MCDERMOTT
Mother of Pearl/Bungalow 1 2020 Oil, colored pencil, canvas board, yarn on panel 63.5 x 53.3 cm | 25 x 21 in (unframed)
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DAVE MCDERMOTT
The Lotos Garden (Frau mit Korallen) 2020 Oil, 23k gold, yarn, Masonite on panel 63.5 x 53.3 cm | 25 x 21 in (unframed)
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DAVE MCDERMOTT
DAVE MCDERMOTT
Untitled
The Fool
2020
2016-2020
Oil, wax, yarn on panel 35.6 x 27.9 cm | 14 x 11 in (unframed)
Oil on panel 35.6 x 27.9 cm | 14 x 11 in (unframed)
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KEIZERSGRACHT 241 1016EA AMSTERDAM
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DAVE MCDERMOTT
A Smaller At Sea 2019 Oil, oil stick, map pins, Flashe, 23k gold, sizing lacquer on panel 158.4 x 121.9 cm | 62 3/8 x 48 in
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DAVE MCDERMOTT
The Painting Lesson 2016-2020 Oil, charcoal, linen, canvas, 23k gold on panel 35.6 x 27.9 cm | 14 x 11 in (unframed)
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DAVE MCDERMOTT
le jardin des Hespérides 2020 Oil, wax, canvas board, shellac on panel 63.5 x 53.3 cm | 25 x 21 in (unframed)
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DAVE MCDERMOTT
Palme 2019 Oil, wax, linen on panel 63.5 x 53.3 cm | 25 x 21 in (unframed)
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DAVE MCDERMOTT
Fecundity 2020 Oil, 23k gold, yarn on panel 63.5 x 53.3 cm | 25 x 21 in (unframed)
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DAVE MCDERMOTT
The Wronged Woman 2020 Oil, 23k gold, yarn, canvas board on panel 63.5 x 53.3 cm | 25 x 21 in (unframed)
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Dave McDermott b. 1974 in Santa Cruz, CA (US) Lives and works in Brooklyn, NY (US) EDUCATION Beyond the Object, Brand New Gallery, Milan (IT)
2007 MFA Fine Art, Parsons School of Design, New York (US)
2013
2004 BFA Fine Art, Academy of Art College, San Francisco (US)
2012 Black Medicine: Dave McDermott / Nick van Woert, Room East, New York, NY (US)
RESIDENCIES AND AWARDS 2018 Pollock Krasner Foundation Artist Grant, New York, NY (US) 2010 Artist Residency, Zabludowicz Collection, Sarvisalo (FI) 2008 Resident Artist, Frans Masareel Centrum, Kasterlee (BE) 2007 Deans Scholarship Award, Parsons School of Design, New York, NY (US) SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2020 West, GRIMM, Amsterdam (NL) 2018 The Long Goodbye, GRIMM, New York, NY (US) 2016 The Idiot, Brennan & Griffin, New York, NY (US) 2014 Goethe’s Girlfriend, Brennan & Griffin, New York, NY (US) 2013
The Power and Influence of Joseph Wiseman, GRIMM, Amsterdam (NL)
2012 Dave McDermott: Pleasure Centre, Twig Gallery, Brussels (BE)
Tot, DUVE, Berlin (DE)
2011
A Rake’s Progress, GRIMM, Amsterdam (NL)
The Modern Temper, DUVE, Berlin (DE)
2005 Most of What Follows Is True, Royale, San Francisco, CA (US) SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2018 Pop-up GRIMM, Brussels (BE) 2015 Passing Leap, Hauser & Wirth, New York, NY (US)
Group Exhibition, Brennan & Griffin, New York, NY (US)
DIA:Macon I, DIA:Macon, New York, NY (US)
2011 The Hybrid Velocity, Twig gallery, Brussels (BE)
Cover Version | LP, curated by Timothy Hull, BAM Brooklyn, New York, NY (US)
Tailgates and Substitutes, Thierry Goldberg Gallery, New York, NY (US)
2010 Comedy & Tragedy, curated by David Hunt, Marvelli Gallery, New York, NY (US)
Burn, Baby, Burn!, DUVE, Berlin (DE)
2009 Chimera, curated by David Hunt, SCOPE Special Projects, Miami, FL (US)
Hi, Low and In Between, curated by Matthew Day Jackson & Simone Subal, GRIMM Amsterdam (NL)
2008
Sonata for Executioner and Various Young Women, curated by Nicholas Weist, André Schlechtriem Contemporary, New York, NY (US)
A Seer out of Season, curated by Tairone Bastien & Candice Madey, On Stellar Rays, New York, NY (US)
Cover Version, curated by Timothy Hull, Taylor De Cordoba, Los Angeles, CA (US)
Looking Back, Mireille Mosler Ltd., New York, NY (US)
If I Told You You Were Beautiful, Would You Date Me On The Regular, curated by Nicholas Weist, Oliver Kamm, New York, NY (US)
2007 Until I Know the Pattern: Dave McDermott & Timothy Hull, Bucheon Gallery, San Francisco, CA (US)
CAA-New York Region MFA Show, Hunter College Gallery, New York, NY (US)
2006 20mb, curated by MF Tichy, Mass Art Gallery, Austin, TX (US)
Deluge, Bucheon Gallery, San Francisco, CA (US)
2014 East Side to the West Side, The FLAG Art Foundation, New York, NY (US)
2005 Is There Summer in San Francisco?, Bucheon Gallery, San Francisco, CA (US)
2004 12 x 12, Royale, San Francisco, CA (US)
Huidige Zaken, GRIMM, Amsterdam (NL)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
2018 Dave McDermott - Through the Long Goodbye, GRIMM, Amsterdam, 2018
Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection, West Palm Beach, FL (US)
Carpenter, J., “Meta-allegory in the art of Dave McDermott”, The Revenant Quarterly, Vol. 4, Issue 1/2 – winter/spring 2018
Defares Collection, Amsterdam (NL)
Press, C., “Dave McDermott, The Long Goodbye At GRIMM, New York”, Forbes, February 2018
Duffy, O., “Criticks’ Picks: Dave McDermott”, Artforum, February 2018
2016 Schwab, T., “Creepily Cheerful Art Inspired by Dostoevsky on Display in ‘The Idiot’”, Washington Square News, April 2016 2011
Boogerd van den D., ‘’Dave McDermott – A Rake’s Progress’’, Amsterdam 2011
Cutting Edges|Contemporary Collage, Gestalten Press 2011
De Heus-Zomer Collection, Barneveld (NL) EKARD collection Mizuho Art Collection, London (UK) Mohammed Al-Thani Collection, Sharjah (AE) Museum Voorlinden, Wassenaar (NL) The Finest Amsterdam Contemporary Art Collection ever…, Amsterdam (NL) Wassim Rasamny Collection, Beirut (LB) Zabludowicz Collection
2008 Lynell, G., “A New Cover Story”, Los Angeles Times, July 13, 2008 2007 Georgopoulos, A., “Until I Know The Pattern (A principle of randomness & rough hewn craft)”, SF Bay Guardian, April 25, 2007
Bamberger, A., “Dave McDermott & Timothy Hull-Until I Know The Pattern”, artbusiness.com, April 16, 2007
Norden, L., “New American Paintings, 2006 MFA Edition”, Open Studios Press, 2007
2006 Chan, S., “On Your Mark, Get Set, Create Something Arty”, New York Times, June 12, 2006
Kurtz, K., “Deluge”, San Francisco Bay Guardian, June 7, 2006
“Watercolors from 20 Artists at SF’s Bucheon Gallery”, Artinfo.com, May 16, 2006
Arning, B., “New American Paintings”, 62nd Edition, Northeastern Region, Open Studios Press, 2006
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KEIZERSGRACHT 241 1016EA AMSTERDAM
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