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David Derr Press & Reviews
Gallery & Studios Magazine
David Derr's Daring Detours Down Unexpected Paths
Derr is an almost dauntingly versatile artist. Entering his website (www.d2studios.com) one hardly knows where to begin, given the sheer number of paintings, mixed media works, and digital drawings displayed therein. A successful graphic designer as well as a fine artist, Derr explores a variety of mediums and styles. Yet each work is stamped indelibly by his singular sensibility, calling to mind modernist predecessors such as Paul Klee: and Contemporaries like Lucas Samaras who eschew the limitations of a so-called "signature style" in order to make each new phase of their creativity a fresh adventure.
"For me drawing and painting is about creating a space where both the creator's and the viewer's creative thoughts are set free to explore unexpected paths," Derr states and to navigate through the pathways of his prolific output is indeed to encounter the unexpected at every turn.
In Derr's series "Ice," translucent hues, as fluorescent and vibrant as those in Warhol's portraits, are superimposed over frozen surfaces further enlivened by swirling lines (possibly made by skate blades), creating a sinuous abstract dance. Thus one is hardly prepared for the witty juxtapositions of found objects in Derr's dadaistic assemblages such as "Allegory," in which a gold plated baby doll, winged and bound with string, is transformed into a glitzy Rococo S&M cherub, or "Time Flies," in which an antique A-frame clock, fitted with ornate white wings instead of hands and topped by an actual toupee that functions as a thatched roof, appears to comment on the indignities of age and the inevitability of decay.
Then, just as one is beginning to think of him as a Neo-Duchampian conceptualist, Derr reveals himself to be an accomplished figurative artist as well, with a distinctive gift for strong yet harmonious color and expressive distortions in mixed media paintings such as "A Classic Case," with its witty semi-abstract take on Baroque architecture and statuary ala Hockney. And the further one progresses into the site, moving on to Derr's recently completed digital works, the more complex his compositions become.
In "Concerto for Dingo and Tiki God," zanily anthropomorphic versions of the Australian canine and the Polynesian deity cavort in a jazz combo, amid a colorful riot of fractured cubist planes; while "Spin," another work demonstrating Derr's gift for creating intriguing anatomical anomalies, depicts a demonic red. fleshed "dream spinner" set against a deep blue cosmos, akin to the brash brilliance of Chicago's "Hairy Who" school.
By contrast, "Resurrection of the Magi" is a lyrical vision of a simplified figure in a mystical landscape worthy of the aforementioned Paul Klee, its poetic synthesis of the spiritual and whimsical revealing yet another side of the multidimensional David Derr.
-J. Sanders Eaton
Gallery & Studio
Sept./Oct. 2006
SANTA FE ART WORLD
It is a true artist who expresses beauty, tells a story of it and leaves it lingering in the heart. Sometimes the artist tells other stories, of what man saw instead of true beauty. David Derr expresses beauty in many ways, the vibration or energy of it, the soul, perhaps even deeper than that. The essence, the spirit, the things we look beyond and don't see, because or media filled lives doesn't tell us to look for them. Or maybe the mechanical world we live in has become who we are and how we respond to things around us. What a tragedy though, living around so much beauty and never experiencing it. All these elements are present in your work. The joys, the sorrows, all the way to the bovine whose lives parallel our own. Yet you, somehow retain the essence of beauty therein while overtly pushing an abstract statement in the viewer's face. Many of your works are very thought provoking. Well done.
-Denise Ticer
Santa Fe Art World
January, 2007
ARTS COUNCIL OF THE MORRIS AREA
With works that could be described as a cross between surrealism and fantasy, spiced with a hefty does of allegory thrown in “for good measure,” David Derr’s art stands out as truly unique. One is tempted to see influences of Dadaism or the Blaue Reiter school of Expressionism in Derr’s free use of color and form, but his oils, mixed media, and digital works are distinctive and highly original. Intriguing and challenging viewers through an astonishingly rich vocabulary of symbols and allusions, they bear carefully crafted, often humorous titles which tantalize the mind and evoke connections to music, philosophy, literature/poetry, theater and, of course, to visual arts.
New Jersey artist David Derr’s first recollection of an interest in art was at age six, when an artist neighbor, introduced him to the world of drawing. Derr attended the Art Students League in the 1970’s studying life drawing under Gregory D’Allesio and Gutav Rehburger and graphics with Michael Ponce DeLeon. His passion for life drawing continued as a primary focus for nearly 10 years while he made a living as an artists’ model and freelance commercial artist. Currently Derr heads up his own design agency, D2 Studios Inc., in the past he has been employed as Art and Creative Director’s for New Jersey advertising agencies and has achieved national recognition for his designs. Commercial success has only brought into sharper focus his love for fine arts and his expression of deep personal imagery. This is influenced by his interest in archeology, primitive art, mythology, classical music, and dance.
“Humanity is composed of many creative explorers. We have been this way since the beginnings of our existence as a race and before. This is the cornerstone of what it is to be a thinking human being. My images are my attempt to explore what it is to be one of those imaginative beings. The visual arts, music, dance, literature, myths, mysticism, spirituality and the sciences as well as everyday life all contribute in the creation of my images. I attempt to create paintings that not only reflect my thoughts but engage the viewer to look deeper into their own thoughts and find the depths to each piece that are not initially apparent. To me painting is not about technical expertise, but about creating a space where both the
creator and the viewers creative thoughts are set free to explore unexpected paths.”
Derr has been included in exhibitions juried by Ivan Karp of the OK Harris Gallery, Holly Solomon, of the Holly Solomon Gallery, and by curators from the Guggenheim and NJ State Museums. He has exhibited throughout the United States and Europe. His works appear in collections all over the United States and has been featured in NY Times, Photoshop User, Digital Fine Arts Magazine, and Gallery & Studio Magazine. He is represented online at D2Studios.com, DiscoverJerseyArts.com, and the Museum of Computer Art. He has received awards from the International Digital Mural Competition, the NYC Art Directors Club, Adobe’s Digital Imaging Competition, and most recently an award from the Museum of Computer Art.
Derr’s own words provide considerable insight into his visual creations, as in the case of his commentary on his oil painting, Mephisto’s Waltz:
“a depiction of the conflict between good and evil and dark and light. In it, Mephisto is depicted as somewhat attractive and alluring (albeit in a kind of Las Vegas showgirl way) which can make it easier for people to be seduced by this deception into actions that seem on the surface to be serving good but which, in fact, can be just the opposite. The positions of the main figure’s foot residing on top of the gray head represent suppression (suppression of ideas, speech, beliefs, artistic expression, knowledge, etc.) in the name of noble causes. The books and the door to what I consider the library also relates to this theme. The blue horse represents good intentions which can sometimes be distorted by those who would use them for their own purposes. The figure with the mask is just that[;] people hide behind masks all the time, for good or ill. The dancing croc is a representation of the same ideas as above. Sometimes things that seem playful and innocent have sharp claws. In the upper right is the golden statue representing all things good.
I did, (however), try to make the overall feel of the painting playful because I believe all this is some great dance or game to which we don’t have the music.
The inspiration for completion of this painting came from the fact that I was studying for a performance of Shumann’s “Scenes” from Faust (I sing with the Masterwork Chorus in NJ) and,even though the original sketch was done a year or so before, it all jelled around that time. So when it comes down to it, the whole picture has a kind of Faustian theme.
There are more figures floating in and out of the background that don’t show up very well on the web but that add to the overall theme of the painting. Also some of the same can only be seen when viewed from a distance.
Departing from the serious, Derr indulges his delight in the everyday with his oil, Walking the Dog. Using a much brighter palette than in Mephisto, Derr conveys the palpable pleasure of the scene through the whimsical blue dog strolling in the sunlight with his wingfooted (nearly airborne) human companion. The artist’s own humorous comments are similarly informative:
The original sketch and drawing for this painting was done a year or two before we were blessed with the arrival of the cutest and most friendly dog in the world (yes I’m biased, but it’s true). I have spent many hours, through all seasons, accompanying him on his trips of good will (and other essentials) throughout the neighborhood, and have learned much about the beauty of just being in the moment.
Derr’s personal connection with music is evident in his widespread use of musical elements in his paintings. In Walking the Dog (see above), he incorporates modified versions of C-clefs and the violin’s “f hole” on both the dog figure and in the background. References to musical forms as well as to instruments are depicted in works such as Concerto for Dingo and Tiki God,The Quartet, The Cellist, and The Guitar Player.
Capturing an entirely different mood with its ritualistic, frieze-like posing of protagonists, the Fire Dance draws upon both the images of martial arts, hieroglyphics and the sculptural forms of the South and Central American traditions. Derr conveys the idea of conflict through his figures’ sharp angles and the prevailing “fiery” colors of orange, ochre, pink and red. But it is his striking use of yellow – in a bold, almost three-dimensional diagonal - which focuses the eye and draws it into the painting. Once again, the artist himself provides valuable insights:
Fire Dance is about ritual and dance and the bridge that it creates between this world and those others we do not understand. In this painting, the figures were done in a combination of the styles of Inca and Aztec figures with a touch of influence of the Japanese master Hokuai. Using these styles in combination with the theme of a fire dance and the colors of a raging fire burning off the picture plane and its cast shadows gives the composition an ancient and mystical feel evoking the spirit of the dance.
Derr’s fascination with dance, seen above in the ritualistic Fire Dance, is also reflected in the graceful positioning of limbs and balletic gestures in works such as Three and the Moon and Bird in Hand and even, one might argue, in The Ringmaster, as well.
In the beginning there was a creature not yet fully man. Then, he became self aware, full of new potential. (I’m not sure if we have yet reached our full potential as a species.)
Derr’s wide ranging interests, knowledge of “the classics” and his wit are abundantly evident in St. George and the Itty Bitty Dragon, a unique “take” on a classic theme in art.
Ever the explorer, Derr delves into the digital with several darker, more complex works including The Firebird (allusion to Stravinsky?) and Fertile Ground.
The high value Derr places on imagination and originality is clearly conveyed in his commentary on the digital work, Fertile Ground:
The main focus of this piece is imagination and how it is the most fertile of grounds. A good imagination is the stepping stone for greatness. It is the greatest gift we have that could possibly inspire in others. Without it nothing new would ever be created.
At once whimsical and provocative, lyrical and static, colorful and dark, David Derr’s artworks arrest the eye and intrigue the mind. Imagination and originality are the hallmarks of his unique artistic language which draws upon sources beyond the visual and seems to constantly evolve in new directions, engaging the viewer with its humor, insight and striking beauty.
-Dr. Lynn Siebert
Arts Council of the Morris Area
David Derr's Daring Detours Down Unexpected Paths
Derr is an almost dauntingly versatile artist. Entering his website (www.d2studios.com) one hardly knows where to begin, given the sheer number of paintings, mixed media works, and digital drawings displayed therein. A successful graphic designer as well as a fine artist, Derr explores a variety of mediums and styles. Yet each work is stamped indelibly by his singular sensibility, calling to mind modernist predecessors such as Paul Klee: and Contemporaries like Lucas Samaras who eschew the limitations of a so-called "signature style" in order to make each new phase of their creativity a fresh adventure.
"For me drawing and painting is about creating a space where both the creator's and the viewer's creative thoughts are set free to explore unexpected paths," Derr states and to navigate through the pathways of his prolific output is indeed to encounter the unexpected at every turn.
In Derr's series "Ice," translucent hues, as fluorescent and vibrant as those in Warhol's portraits, are superimposed over frozen surfaces further enlivened by swirling lines (possibly made by skate blades), creating a sinuous abstract dance. Thus one is hardly prepared for the witty juxtapositions of found objects in Derr's dadaistic assemblages such as "Allegory," in which a gold plated baby doll, winged and bound with string, is transformed into a glitzy Rococo S&M cherub, or "Time Flies," in which an antique A-frame clock, fitted with ornate white wings instead of hands and topped by an actual toupee that functions as a thatched roof, appears to comment on the indignities of age and the inevitability of decay.
Then, just as one is beginning to think of him as a Neo-Duchampian conceptualist, Derr reveals himself to be an accomplished figurative artist as well, with a distinctive gift for strong yet harmonious color and expressive distortions in mixed media paintings such as "A Classic Case," with its witty semi-abstract take on Baroque architecture and statuary ala Hockney. And the further one progresses into the site, moving on to Derr's recently completed digital works, the more complex his compositions become.
In "Concerto for Dingo and Tiki God," zanily anthropomorphic versions of the Australian canine and the Polynesian deity cavort in a jazz combo, amid a colorful riot of fractured cubist planes; while "Spin," another work demonstrating Derr's gift for creating intriguing anatomical anomalies, depicts a demonic red. fleshed "dream spinner" set against a deep blue cosmos, akin to the brash brilliance of Chicago's "Hairy Who" school.
By contrast, "Resurrection of the Magi" is a lyrical vision of a simplified figure in a mystical landscape worthy of the aforementioned Paul Klee, its poetic synthesis of the spiritual and whimsical revealing yet another side of the multidimensional David Derr.
-J. Sanders Eaton
Gallery & Studio
Sept./Oct. 2006
SANTA FE ART WORLD
It is a true artist who expresses beauty, tells a story of it and leaves it lingering in the heart. Sometimes the artist tells other stories, of what man saw instead of true beauty. David Derr expresses beauty in many ways, the vibration or energy of it, the soul, perhaps even deeper than that. The essence, the spirit, the things we look beyond and don't see, because or media filled lives doesn't tell us to look for them. Or maybe the mechanical world we live in has become who we are and how we respond to things around us. What a tragedy though, living around so much beauty and never experiencing it. All these elements are present in your work. The joys, the sorrows, all the way to the bovine whose lives parallel our own. Yet you, somehow retain the essence of beauty therein while overtly pushing an abstract statement in the viewer's face. Many of your works are very thought provoking. Well done.
-Denise Ticer
Santa Fe Art World
January, 2007
ARTS COUNCIL OF THE MORRIS AREA
With works that could be described as a cross between surrealism and fantasy, spiced with a hefty does of allegory thrown in “for good measure,” David Derr’s art stands out as truly unique. One is tempted to see influences of Dadaism or the Blaue Reiter school of Expressionism in Derr’s free use of color and form, but his oils, mixed media, and digital works are distinctive and highly original. Intriguing and challenging viewers through an astonishingly rich vocabulary of symbols and allusions, they bear carefully crafted, often humorous titles which tantalize the mind and evoke connections to music, philosophy, literature/poetry, theater and, of course, to visual arts.
New Jersey artist David Derr’s first recollection of an interest in art was at age six, when an artist neighbor, introduced him to the world of drawing. Derr attended the Art Students League in the 1970’s studying life drawing under Gregory D’Allesio and Gutav Rehburger and graphics with Michael Ponce DeLeon. His passion for life drawing continued as a primary focus for nearly 10 years while he made a living as an artists’ model and freelance commercial artist. Currently Derr heads up his own design agency, D2 Studios Inc., in the past he has been employed as Art and Creative Director’s for New Jersey advertising agencies and has achieved national recognition for his designs. Commercial success has only brought into sharper focus his love for fine arts and his expression of deep personal imagery. This is influenced by his interest in archeology, primitive art, mythology, classical music, and dance.
“Humanity is composed of many creative explorers. We have been this way since the beginnings of our existence as a race and before. This is the cornerstone of what it is to be a thinking human being. My images are my attempt to explore what it is to be one of those imaginative beings. The visual arts, music, dance, literature, myths, mysticism, spirituality and the sciences as well as everyday life all contribute in the creation of my images. I attempt to create paintings that not only reflect my thoughts but engage the viewer to look deeper into their own thoughts and find the depths to each piece that are not initially apparent. To me painting is not about technical expertise, but about creating a space where both the
creator and the viewers creative thoughts are set free to explore unexpected paths.”
Derr has been included in exhibitions juried by Ivan Karp of the OK Harris Gallery, Holly Solomon, of the Holly Solomon Gallery, and by curators from the Guggenheim and NJ State Museums. He has exhibited throughout the United States and Europe. His works appear in collections all over the United States and has been featured in NY Times, Photoshop User, Digital Fine Arts Magazine, and Gallery & Studio Magazine. He is represented online at D2Studios.com, DiscoverJerseyArts.com, and the Museum of Computer Art. He has received awards from the International Digital Mural Competition, the NYC Art Directors Club, Adobe’s Digital Imaging Competition, and most recently an award from the Museum of Computer Art.
Derr’s own words provide considerable insight into his visual creations, as in the case of his commentary on his oil painting, Mephisto’s Waltz:
“a depiction of the conflict between good and evil and dark and light. In it, Mephisto is depicted as somewhat attractive and alluring (albeit in a kind of Las Vegas showgirl way) which can make it easier for people to be seduced by this deception into actions that seem on the surface to be serving good but which, in fact, can be just the opposite. The positions of the main figure’s foot residing on top of the gray head represent suppression (suppression of ideas, speech, beliefs, artistic expression, knowledge, etc.) in the name of noble causes. The books and the door to what I consider the library also relates to this theme. The blue horse represents good intentions which can sometimes be distorted by those who would use them for their own purposes. The figure with the mask is just that[;] people hide behind masks all the time, for good or ill. The dancing croc is a representation of the same ideas as above. Sometimes things that seem playful and innocent have sharp claws. In the upper right is the golden statue representing all things good.
I did, (however), try to make the overall feel of the painting playful because I believe all this is some great dance or game to which we don’t have the music.
The inspiration for completion of this painting came from the fact that I was studying for a performance of Shumann’s “Scenes” from Faust (I sing with the Masterwork Chorus in NJ) and,even though the original sketch was done a year or so before, it all jelled around that time. So when it comes down to it, the whole picture has a kind of Faustian theme.
There are more figures floating in and out of the background that don’t show up very well on the web but that add to the overall theme of the painting. Also some of the same can only be seen when viewed from a distance.
Departing from the serious, Derr indulges his delight in the everyday with his oil, Walking the Dog. Using a much brighter palette than in Mephisto, Derr conveys the palpable pleasure of the scene through the whimsical blue dog strolling in the sunlight with his wingfooted (nearly airborne) human companion. The artist’s own humorous comments are similarly informative:
The original sketch and drawing for this painting was done a year or two before we were blessed with the arrival of the cutest and most friendly dog in the world (yes I’m biased, but it’s true). I have spent many hours, through all seasons, accompanying him on his trips of good will (and other essentials) throughout the neighborhood, and have learned much about the beauty of just being in the moment.
Derr’s personal connection with music is evident in his widespread use of musical elements in his paintings. In Walking the Dog (see above), he incorporates modified versions of C-clefs and the violin’s “f hole” on both the dog figure and in the background. References to musical forms as well as to instruments are depicted in works such as Concerto for Dingo and Tiki God,The Quartet, The Cellist, and The Guitar Player.
Capturing an entirely different mood with its ritualistic, frieze-like posing of protagonists, the Fire Dance draws upon both the images of martial arts, hieroglyphics and the sculptural forms of the South and Central American traditions. Derr conveys the idea of conflict through his figures’ sharp angles and the prevailing “fiery” colors of orange, ochre, pink and red. But it is his striking use of yellow – in a bold, almost three-dimensional diagonal - which focuses the eye and draws it into the painting. Once again, the artist himself provides valuable insights:
Fire Dance is about ritual and dance and the bridge that it creates between this world and those others we do not understand. In this painting, the figures were done in a combination of the styles of Inca and Aztec figures with a touch of influence of the Japanese master Hokuai. Using these styles in combination with the theme of a fire dance and the colors of a raging fire burning off the picture plane and its cast shadows gives the composition an ancient and mystical feel evoking the spirit of the dance.
Derr’s fascination with dance, seen above in the ritualistic Fire Dance, is also reflected in the graceful positioning of limbs and balletic gestures in works such as Three and the Moon and Bird in Hand and even, one might argue, in The Ringmaster, as well.
In the beginning there was a creature not yet fully man. Then, he became self aware, full of new potential. (I’m not sure if we have yet reached our full potential as a species.)
Derr’s wide ranging interests, knowledge of “the classics” and his wit are abundantly evident in St. George and the Itty Bitty Dragon, a unique “take” on a classic theme in art.
Ever the explorer, Derr delves into the digital with several darker, more complex works including The Firebird (allusion to Stravinsky?) and Fertile Ground.
The high value Derr places on imagination and originality is clearly conveyed in his commentary on the digital work, Fertile Ground:
The main focus of this piece is imagination and how it is the most fertile of grounds. A good imagination is the stepping stone for greatness. It is the greatest gift we have that could possibly inspire in others. Without it nothing new would ever be created.
At once whimsical and provocative, lyrical and static, colorful and dark, David Derr’s artworks arrest the eye and intrigue the mind. Imagination and originality are the hallmarks of his unique artistic language which draws upon sources beyond the visual and seems to constantly evolve in new directions, engaging the viewer with its humor, insight and striking beauty.
-Dr. Lynn Siebert
Arts Council of the Morris Area
DY Magazine
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Links | Resources | Contact
Paintings | Mixed Media | Mixed Media Early Works | Digital Works | Assemblages
Drawings | Drawings - The Early Works | Photography
Poetry | Music | Videos |
Recent Works | Exhibitions | Graphic Design
Links | Resources | Contact