DEREK SULLIVAN:
Problems That Arise from Continually Confusing Left & Right
Opening Reception: 13 September 3:30­­–5 pm

On Saturday, 13 September, all are invited to the Agnes for a reception celebrating the completion of this dramatic work in the Atrium, and will have the opportunity to meet artist Derek Sullivan, who will be onsite for the duration, and the artists who assisted him in creating the work. Refreshments will be provided.

This new commission builds upon the Art Centre’s acquisition last year of Derek Sullivan’s piece #32, Le poeme de l’angle droit, Corridor, Folding Stair, an accent misstep. Problems That Arise from Continually Confusing Left & Right retains Sullivan’s careful handmade method and conceptual rigor but also signals a shift in approach, through its monumental scale and attention to the site of the artwork. Occupying a space above the gallery’s reception desk that might normally be used for wayfinding, Sullivan’s drawing raises the problem of mixing up directions from our fluctuating “central” position. “The title,” says Sullivan, “refers to my own difficulty of remembering left and right (it has got me into many troubles over the years).” This large-scale drawing is slated to remain on view for two years. Subsequent versions of Problems… will be composed using a template and a set of instructions provided by the artist for this conceptual in situ work.

Derek Sullivan is a Toronto-based artist whose work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions internationally at institutions including Galerie Emmanuel Hervé, Paris and the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. Sullivan was twice recognized on the Sobey Art Award Ontario Long List and, in 2012, on the Sobey Art Award Short List.

Thanks are extended to the following artists for their generous assistance in the creation of the drawing: Jane Derby, Erin Milliken, Sara Perosa, Joan Scaglione, Anna Soper, and Aida Sulcs.

BONUS EVENT: Come early for Derek Sullivan’s launch to participate in the ArtsVote Kingston campaign launch at 2:30 to 3:30 pm, organized by the Advocacy Committee of the Kingston Arts Council in preparation for the upcoming municipal election.

This commission was made possible by Canada Council for the Arts Acquisition Grants program and the Donald Murray Shepherd Bequest, Queen’s University, 2014

Image: Derek Sullivan, Problems That Arise from Continually Confusing Left & Right (in progress), 2014, coloured pencil on wall, (57-012).

For further information contact Emily Marshall at aeadmin@queensu.ca