Damian Moppett
Damian Moppett is a Canadian artist born in 1969 in Calgary, Alberta, recognized for his diverse artistic practice that encompasses paintings, sculptures, photographs, films, and music. He graduated from the Emily Carr University of Art and Design and earned a Master of Fine Arts from Concordia University. Moppett's art often interrogates themes related to modern society, gender roles, and the nature of artistic creation, blending traditional and abstract styles in his works. He began exhibiting in 1992 and has showcased his art in various notable galleries across Canada, the U.S., and Europe.
Moppett's works include unique installations that incorporate multiple media formats and everyday objects, often provoking thought about the processes of creation and evaluation in art. One of his significant pieces, the film *1815/1962*, reflects on his career and thematic explorations. He has continued to evolve his artistic expression, using innovative techniques and materials, as seen in his recent exhibitions that challenge conventional gallery presentations. Residing in Vancouver, Moppett remains active in the art scene and also expresses his creativity through music, serving as the lead guitarist in a band.
Subject Terms
Damian Moppett
Artist
- Born: 1969
- Place of Birth: Calgary, Alberta
Contribution: Damian Moppett is a Canadian artist known for his use of varied media. He produces paintings, sculptures, photographs, films, and music. Moppett’s art explores themes such as the state of modern society, gender roles, and the process of artistic creation. Moppett began exhibiting his work in 1992, primarily in Canada and the northeastern United States.
Education
Damian Moppett was born in 1969 in Calgary, Alberta. In 1992, he graduated from the Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver, British Columbia. He then earned his master of fine arts degree from Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec. From 1998 to 2004, Moppett returned to the Emily Carr University to work as an instructor.
Artistic Works and Style
Moppett’s art includes many forms of expression, ranging from traditional to abstract art and including paintings, photographs, sculpture, and multimedia presentations. Art critics note his use of self-analysis and documentation of his artistic process to raise questions about how art and artists are evaluated.
Some of Moppett’s artwork uses natural images, such as an untitled 2002 series of photographs portraying horned goats grazing in a field. Other pieces have a more conceptual and abstract nature, such as the Stabile series, which show an assembly of white forms and pottery suspended on trays held by wires. Moppett also used everyday objects and urban trash, such as cigarette butts and deflated balloons, as subjects in his work.
Moppett created larger-scale artwork by combining several forms of media. These large installations include The Visible Work (2005), Progress in Advance of the Fall (2007), and After the Fall (2007). The Visible Work includes watercolor paintings, clay pottery, and videos about the creation of music. Moppett, also a guitarist, increasingly incorporated music into his work.
Moppett also wrote essays about art, including “What the World’s Like with the Words We Like,” a 2004 introduction to his exhibitions and “Damian Moppett Gets Lost in the Night of the Nepenthe,” a 1999 article for the National Post.
1815/1962
In 2003, Moppett created a short film that incorporated many themes and images from his career. Titled 1815/1962, the eighteen-minute film stars Moppett as a trapper roaming in the Canadian wilderness. Moppett explained that the creation of 1815/1962 was a strong influence on his career. Many of his subsequent works revisited 1815/1962 or expanded on its artistic themes.
In the film, a trapper, wearing vintage clothing and a long beard, examines the trees in the forest and finds unexpected scenes. These scenes are replicated in models exhibited in the galleries in which the film is played. Critics have noted that the use of real-life models, shown to the audience beforehand and later portrayed in the film, makes viewers consider the nature of creation.
Exhibitions
Moppett began exhibiting his artwork around the time of his graduation from Emily Carr University in 1992. His first exhibitions that year were at Articule in Montreal and Perel Gallery in Vancouver. Since then, Moppett held more than a dozen solo exhibitions as well as group exhibitions. Some of these exhibitions took place at the Catriona Jeffries Gallery, Vancouver; the Temple Gallery, Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia; and the Yvon Lambert, Paris.
Moppett’s work has also been displayed in Canada, Europe, and the United States in such galleries as the Vancouver Art Gallery, the National Gallery of Canada, and the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art. In 2011, Moppett work was shown in a solo exhibition, Damian Moppett: Collected Works, at the Rennie Collection at Wing Sang in Vancouver. From November 8, 2012 to April 1, 2013, Moppett’s solo exhibit, Offsite: Damian Moppett) was on display at Vancouver Art Gallery Offsite, the gallery’s outdoor exhibition space. For the exhibit, Moppett turned his 2008 Large Painting and Caryatid Maquette in Studio at Night into a three-dimensional sculpture installation.
In 2023, Moppett's work was featured at Vancouver's Catriona Jeffries art gallery. Unlike traditional gallery painting exhibits, where works are hung flat against a wall, Moppett's art on display in this exhibit was mostly painted on shaped sheets of aluminum that either stood on painted white legs in the middle of the gallery or projected from the walls on small supports. The artistic displays appear to be almost photograph-like depictions of glimpses into someone's home, office, and everyday life.
Personal Life
Moppett lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, where he continues creating artwork as well as playing guitar as lead guitarist in a band.
Bibliography
Canadian Art. “Damian Moppett: Studio Dreams.” Canadian Art. Canadian Art Foundation, 3 June 2010. Web. 22 Aug. 2013.
Center for Contemporary Canadian Art. “Damian Moppett.” CCCA Canadian Art Database. CCCA Canadian Art Database, 1997, 2013. Web. 22 Aug. 2013.
Gogarty, Amy. "Damian Moppett: Orchestrated Perceptual Play is Rife with Tensions." Galleries West, 24 April 2023, www.gallerieswest.ca/magazine/stories/damian-moppett/. Accessed 19 Sept. 2024.
Johnson, Mia. “Damian Moppett: The Visible Work.” Preview: The Gallery Guide. Preview, 9 May 2005. Web. 22 Aug. 2013.
Lederman, Marsha. “Damian Moppett’s One-Man History of Art.” Globe and Mail. Globe and Mail, 2 Sept. 2012. Web. 22 Aug. 2013.
Mahovsky, Trevor. “Damian Moppett.” Artforum International 42.8 (2004): 166. Print.
Olson, Christopher. “Damian Moppett.” Border Crossngs 24.2 (2005): 99–101. Print.
Sava, Sharla. “In the Studio with Damian Moppett.” Capilano Review 3.6 (2008): 47–56. Print.
Szewczyk, Monika. “Rewind: Damian Moppett.” Canadian Art. Canadian Art Foundation, 15 June 2005. Web. 22 Aug. 2013.
Tousley, Nancy. “Damian Moppett.” Border Crossings 31.1 (2012): 76–78. Print.
Tousley, Nancy. “A Trapper in the Woods.” Canadian Art 25.1 (2008): 62–67. Print.