Kirsten Deirup

Remote View

November 21, 2020 - January 2, 2021

de boer gallery is pleased to announce a solo exhibition and limited edition publication of new paintings by Kirsten Deirup. In her first exhibition with de boer, New York based Deirup presents oil on muslin and gouache on paper paintings that confront the apathy of Hudson River School paintings made famous by artists such as Thomas Cole, Frederich Edwin Church and Albert Beirstadt.

Employing old master glazing techniques, Deirup’s haute couture shoes in a palette of glossy golds and blacks and whites embrace a femininity that rejects the frontier promised by the advertising style landscapes of the Hudson River School. The colossal pumps and knee-high boots--towering to the sky--are a fetish dream as they stand in the vacant landscape. Deirup’s process has evolved out of infatuation and devotion, images appearing at night a sort of divination that suggests a larger whole.

The new paintings build on portraits of mythical characters that appear collaged and smashed together out of trash and fruits and vegetables. Deirup explains: “I never want to look too far into the history of subjects. I prefer to make my own story.” This nod and simultaneous betrayal of nature ​explores a territory where theater, nature and devastation commingle. She accentuates uneasy relationships that appeal to our subconscious by depicting a reality that is beyond explanation.

Kirsten Deirup (b. 1980, Berkeley, CA) attended The Cooper Union, New York, NY. She has had solo exhibitions at Nichelle Beauchene Gallery, New York, NY; Guild and Greyschul, New York, NY; and Rare, New York, NY. Group exhibitions include; Morgan Lehman Gallery, New York, NY; Jeff Bailey Gallery, New York, NY; Marc Wolf Contemporary Art, San Fransisco, CA; Geoffrey Young Gallery, Great Barrington, MA; and Roberts Projects, Los Angeles, CA.

Selected Works

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