This 2008 drawing by Toronto-based artist Derek Sullivan presents a modernist design rendered in coloured pencil on paper. In the work, Sullivan juxtaposes his mark-making-which reveals the artist’s hand-and the sharp angles of the design, which engage with the hard edge of modernism. The angled blocks of colour that shape the composition of the drawing allude to the 90-degree angle championed by Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier, a reference made more pointed by Sullivan’s quotation of Le Corbusier’s text and lithograph work Le poeme de l’angle droit in the drawing’s title. The multiple components of the drawing’s title-which is extended with each presentation of the work-further play with meaning and ambiguity, allowing for an open reading of the work and the artist’s references. #32, Le poeme de l’angle droit, Corridor, Folding Stair, an accent misstep is part of Sullivan’s Posters Drawing series. Comprised of drawings on paper the size of conventional posters, works in this series mimic reduced minimalist forms while making reference to graphic design. Through such gestures, the series explores how simple generic elements of design and pattern, such as the decorative elements of a poster, carry ideologies and associations.

Sullivan completed his BFA at York University in 1998 and received his MFA from the University of Guelph in 2002. His drawings have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions internationally at institutions including Galerie Emmanuel Hervé, Paris; Galerie Tatjana Pieters, Ghent; the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art; The Power Plant, Toronto; and Julia Friedman Gallery, New York. Sullivan’s work is also represented in the BMO Bank of Montreal Collection, National Gallery of Canada, RBC Royal Bank of Canada Collection and the TD Bank Group Collection. In 2009 and 2011 he was recognized on the Sobey Art Award Ontario Long List and in 2012, on the Sobey Art Award Short List.