Vague Affinities
nancy margolis gallery
Jeff Depner: Vague Affinities January 12 – February 18, 2017 Reception: Thursday, January 12, 6-8 pm
Jeff Depner’s geometric abstract paintings came to my attention a few years ago while attending one of the New York art fairs in 2012. Jeff was exhibiting with Aurelius Gallery and I was very taken by the visual freshness of his paintings. As a gallerist I am always looking to find original work and after a while you begin to distinguish between what is original and what is imitative. Jeff I felt fell into the “original” category. I was so enthusiastic about Jeff’s paintings, that I bought one from the Aurelius Gallery, and soon after followed up with an invitation for a solo show at NMG. The show opened in 2013. This work was very structured, geometric and abstract. The color field consisted of intense bright reds, blues, whites, textured and layered.He also showed smaller paintings, more loosely painted of triangles, with softer hues. At the time I did not know that these smaller works would become a starting point for a whole new series of ideas and that these would form the basis of his second solo exhibition currently at NMG. The newest paintings have a strong relationship to minimalism’s spare line and color, also simple collaged forms applied to accent the surface pattern, or to introduce color. This newest series gave surface space great importance, simple shapes sparingly indulged, and color used only to accent the form and shapes on the canvas. Subtle layered marks allowed underneath colors to breath through. Included in the exhibit are three larger paintings somewhat reminiscent of the work from his first solo in 2013. These geometric abstract paintings showed how much he learned since the 2013 exhibition.The tight, exacting compositions no longer existed, instead a freer, lighthearted abstraction appeared to tilt, and dance up and down and across the canvas. Even color showed a more distinct grasp of how to take advantage of intriguing opportunities. We can see that Depner’s painting from one series to the next is undergoing a growing metamorphosis, giving his work greater depth and aesthetic vitality. — Nancy Margolis
Cover Image: Collapsing Opposites, 2016, Oil on canvas, 16” x 12”
Amateur Plumbing 2016 Oil on canvas 16” x 12”
Nose Job 2015 Oil on canvas 15” x 13”
Glass Jaw 2016 Oil on canvas 18” x 14”
Echo 2016 Oil on canvas 16” x 12”
Twive Removed 2016 Oil on canvas 28” x 22”
Whiskey Ship 2015 Oil on canvas 16” x 12”
Untitled (Pink & Green) 2015 Oil on cardboard and canvas 17” x 13”
Mascara Snake 2016 Oil on canvas 16” x 12”
Untitled (Green & White) 2016 Acrylic, oil on canvas in artist’s frame 25” x 21”
Clutch 2016 Oil, wood on canvas 18” x 14”
Untitled_2 2016 Oil on canvas 45” x 30”
Untitled_1 2016 Oil on canvas 45” x 30”
Untitled_3 2016 Oil on canvas 45” x 30”
JEFF DEPNER Lives and works in Vancouver, Canada EDUCATION 1994-1998 BFA, DESIGN/ILLUSTRATION, CAPILANO UNIVERSITY, Vancouver SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2017 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2008 2007 2006
VAGUE AFFINITIES at Nancy Margolis Gallery, New York, NY NEW POSITIONS at ART COLOGNE w/Galerie Anke Schmidt, Cologne PULLING TEETH at Galerie Anke Schmidt, Cologne, Germany VARIATIONS BLACK NAPKINS at Nancy Margolis Gallery, New York, NY FORMING at Parts Gallery, Toronto PLUS/MINUS at Parts Gallery, Toronto RECONFIGURED GRIDS at the Jeffrey Boone Gallery, Vancouver PLEXUS at the Jeffrey Boone Gallery, Vancouver REGENERATING THE PAST, PROPOSITION FOR THE FUTURE, Jeffrey Boone Gallery, Vancouver
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2016 2015 2013
2012
2011 2010
2008 2007
2 Person show w/Richard Storms at Gallery Jones, Vancouver AVOIDANCE OF THE REAL at Gallery Jones, Vancouver CAST PARTY at Nancy Margolis Gallery, New York, NY BRILLIANT OPTICS at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Indiana WIDER THAN A POSTCARD at Breeze Block Gallery, Portland, OR ART COLOGNE w/ Galerie Schmidt Maczollek, Cologne, Germany TRULY VICTORIOUS pop up show w/ Aureus Contemporary, New York SCOPE NEW YORK w/ Aureus Contemporary CONTEXT MIAMI w/ Aureus Contemporary THE DIAMOND SEA at FFDG, San Fransisco WATCH WHAT HAPPENED! w/ Martin Creed,Dadamaino, Fabian Marcacchio, Steven Parrino, Gunter Umberg at Galerie Schmidt Maczollek, Cologne, Germany INTERSECTIONS w/ Luce Meunier and Jeanie Riddle at Galerie Antoine Ertaskiran, Montreal SPACE/FORM at Breeze Block Gallery, Portland, OR SCOPE BASEL w/ Aureus Contemporary INAUGURAL GROUP SHOW at Galerie Antoine Ertaskiran, Montreal SCOPE NEW YORK w/ Aureus Contemporary SCOPE MIAMI w/ Aureus Contemporary ART TORONTO w/ Parts Gallery, Toronto MONOMANIA at Trench Contemporary Art, Vancouver SO FAR at Trench Contemporary Art, Vancouver AFTERMATH w/ Russell Leng, Aaron Moran and Sarah Gee at East Van Studios, Vancouver ART TORONTO w/ Parts Gallery, Toronto WORK/PLAY two person exhibition w/ Martie Giefert at Parts Gallery, Toronto Toronto International Art Fair w/ the Jeffrey Boone Gallery, Vancouver SPRING SALON at the Jeffrey Boone Gallery SCAPE w/ Sylvia Grace Borda and Monique Genton at the Jeffrey Boone Gallery Toronto International Art Fair w/ the Jeffrey Boone Gallery
BIBLIOGRAPHY 2012 2011
2008
ARTBOX Magazine Issue # 19 RISING-YOUNG ARTISTS TO KEEP AN EYE ON! published by Daab OTHERWORLDLINESS (Ruby Mag) published by Gestalten R.M. Vaughn, ‘Jeff Depner’-The Globe and Mail SNAP Magazine Issue #15 MAGNUM OPUS Issue #1
Please contact the gallery for more information: margolis@nancymargolisgallery.com 212 242 3013 523 W. 25th Street. New York. NY 10001 www.nancymargolisgallery.com
nancy margolis gallery Catalog © 2017 NANCY MARGOLIS GALLERY Courtesy of Nancy Margolis Gallery, New York and Jeff Depner © Jeff Depner Photography © Jeff Depner All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted, reproduced, or transmitted in any form or by any other means, electronic or mechanical now known or hereafter invented, without written permission of publisher.