Where’s Art invites New York-based curator Natalia Nakazawa to introduce American artist Deric Carner’s work on hybrid and juxtaposition.
Deric Carner (b. 1975, United States) is an artist living and working Brooklyn, NY. His most recent show, Stay, just for a little while, at the Romer Young Gallery in San Francisco, CA contends with the surly topic of sexual transgression through its most restrained counterpart: literature. Recalling to the novels of his youth and recent readings, Carner seductively and thoughtfully traces his steps through the theme of liberated desire. The candid writings of André Gide, Ned Rorem, Kevin Bentley, Merceded de Acosta, Jean Genet, Kevin Killian, Brad Gooch and John Rechy serve as the starting points for abstracted figurative works.
Through cutting, tearing, folding and overpainting, Carner creates mysterious hybrid works that operate somewhere between the digital and physical realms. His imagery references range from the elite to lowbrow, including vintage beefcake, contemporary tumblr porn, generic jpegs, and his own photography and studio materials, which he assembles directly on the scanner bed and in Photoshop. Carner freely reclaims the queer body and reimagines it with poetic sexual radicalism and an unrestricted approach to living.
In addition, Carner has expanded his experimental critique of media consumption and identity in the creation of Eat the Feeling, a 100+ page glossy magazine that walks the line between consumerist object and a fragmented personal memoir. The spreads, which do not include any articles, are composed of collaged imagery from luxury ads and other auratic remains of promotional glamour and attraction. The first volume was printed in 2013, with an expected continuation debuting in NYC in the Fall.
Deric Carner received an MFA at the Piet Zwart Institute, Rotterdam, NL, 2005; with a concurrent MA from the University of Plymouth, UK, 2005, and a BFA in Studio Art from the University of California at Santa Cruz, 1998. He has participated in numerous group and solo exhibitions including: Stay, just for a little while, Romer Young Gallery, San Francisco, 2014, Silhouette, Blackburn 20/20, New York City, 2013; Telefone Sem Fio: The Word-Things of Augusto de Campos Revisited, EFA Project Space, New York City, 2011; Power to the People, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne, 2011;Hypnotic Show, Artists Space, New York City, 2009; and BMW, IX Baltic Triennial of International Art, CAC Vilnius, 2005. Carner received a MacDowell Fellowship in 2009.
Natalia Nakazawa
Natalia Nakazawa is an artist, educator, and arts professional. She is currently the Assistant Director of EFA Studios, a program of The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts which provides subsidized studio space to 108 artists in Manhattan, NY. She received her BFA in painting from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA in studio practice from California College of the Arts.
Deric Carner, ‘If I Die, Vinyl Print and Flowers’, 2014, 48″ x 48″. Image courtesy the artist.
Deric Carner, ‘Loveland’, 2014, print on canvas, varnish overpainting and artists frame, 34″ x 28″. Image courtesy the artist.
Deric Carner, ‘Sexual Outlaw’, 2014, print on metal, 16″ diameter. Image courtesy the artist.
Deric Carner, “Stay, Just for a Little While”, installation view at Romer Young Gallery, San Francisco, 2014. Image courtesy the artist.
Deric Carner, ‘Eat the Feeling’, 2013-14. Image courtesy the artist.