DAMIAN MOPPETT OFFSITE

Damian Moppett, Large Painting and Caryatid Maquette in Studio at Night (Sculpture Version), 2012
aluminum, paint
5.33 x 13.6 x 9.15 metres
site-specific installation
photo credit: Jason in Hollywood
 
Previously the site for effervescent works such as Ken Lum's from shangri-la to shangri-la (2010) and Elspeth Pratt's Second Date (2011), the Vancouver Art Gallery Offsite now sets the stage for Damian Moppett's latest large-scale sculpture, Large Painting and Caryatid Maquette in Studio at Night (2012).

Though Offsite has only been around for three years, it has become a striking and ever-changing landmark in our cityscape of glass, enabling thousands of people to encounter works by some of the most sought-after contemporary artists today. In Offsite's current iteration, Moppett turns his introspective practice outward as he transforms a previous painting (of the same title) into a somewhat abstracted, large-scale sculptural installation that seems to shift perspective as you move past it. It is a mise-en-scene made even more absurd in this public setting  especially so during the day. At night, when the lighting is controlled and thus more dramatic, the work truly comes into its own as its relationship to theatre becomes more apparent.

You may remember Damian Moppett from his most recent show at the Rennie Collection at Wing Sang, where he exhibited a number of works dealing with themes of amateurism, mastery, and the artist's studio "as a site for the performative nature of artmaking". This sculptural installation is well integrated into that practice, and is a must-see for those who are intrigued by Moppett's interior vision. 

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