Art News:
La Petite Mort Gallery presents...
FIVE DAY EXHIBIT
DARREN GRAINGER
Dubbel Zout / New works
March 25-31, 2011
Vernissage: Friday March 25, 2011 / 7-10pm
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Artist Statement:
Darren Grainger, the local artist reputed for his provocative work and guerilla marketing techniques takes aim at the establishment once again with a collection of new works he has dubbed Dubbel Zout. Dubbel zout, a translation of double salt, is a term used to describe the feared, heavily salted Dutch and Scandinavian licorice. It is overwhelming in it’s intensity, love at first bite for some, an acquired taste for others and flat out despised by many more. Grainger draws comparisons between the salty, black confection and his work: “It’s not for everyone, but there is a contingent of people who get and appreciate it. It’s kind of a love/hate thing.”
Grainger takes images ranging from the banal to the repugnant, changes their context and combines them in a way that challenges the in-congruencies in life, culture and the human condition. The day-glow colored and repeated images float nihilistically on black backgrounds pointing to a certain nothingness. The works are finished with epoxy which gives them their glossiness but also carries a thematic weight.
“I’m looking particularly forward to this show as Le Petit Mort fosters and encourages the same no holds barred approach I have toward art. I feel like a have the freedom to do exactly what I want. It’s very liberating.”
The show promises to be both visually and philosophically ch
allenging. But like the licorice, will likely leave some with a bad taste in their mouths.
Thank you,
Christina Anastassopoulos
Art Consiglieri
La Petite Mort Gallery
306 Cumberland St.
Ottawa, ON K1N 7H9
