Damian Moppett’s artistic practice uses a wide variety of media to question existing notions of mastery, craftsmanship and value. Drawing on broad references from the history of modern art, Moppett uses the mediums of sculpture, painting, photography, drawing and video, often in relationship to each other, as a meditation on the activity of making art. Much of Moppett’s recent work blurs the boundaries between mediums in an effort to force, for example, sculpture to act more like a two-dimensional painting or visa versa. The role of tradition in art is questioned while historical precedents are exposed, played with and enveloped in the gestures that evolve out of a studio practice.
Damian Moppett received his MFA from Concordia University in 1995 and his BFA from Emily Carr College of Art + Design in 1992. He has exhibited in Canada and internationally, including recent two-person shows at the National Gallery of Canada and Art Gallery of Alberta, with Ron Moppett (2016/2017), and the following recent solo exhibitions: The Bells, Simon Fraser University Gallery, Burnaby (2014); Vancouver Art Gallery Off-site (2012); Rennie Collection at Wing Sang, Vancouver (2011); The Sculptor’s Studio is a Painting, Catriona Jeffries, Vancouver (2010); Yvon Lambert, Paris (2007); Temple Gallery, Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia (2007); Carleton University Art Gallery, Ottawa (2006); The Visible Work, Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver (2005). Moppett has also been included in numerous group exhibitions, including Shine a Light, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa (2014); Not Photographs, Presentation House Gallery Satellite, Vancouver (2011); Everything Everyday, Vancouver Art Gallery (2010); Don Quijote, Witte de With, Rotterdam, The Netherlands (2006); A Tribute to Cezanne, Yvon Lambert, New York (2006); Intertidal: Vancouver Art and Artists, Museum Van Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen, Antwerp, Belgium (2005); The Cave and the Island, White Columns, New York; Galerie Kunstbuero, Vienna (2004); Bounce, Power Plant, Toronto (2002); Hammertown, Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland (2002). He is represented by Catriona Jeffries: www.catrionajeffries.com.
