Oct 22

Oct 22 Artist TALKS: on Visual Poems with Collage Artist Derek Gores

I've long been a fan of collage artist Derek Gores. His work takes not only takes a second glance, but a third and more. You'll find something new each time you take another look at his talent to incorporate pieces to create a whole. He's currently on view at Lumas Gallery here in Manhattan with his fashion couture-focused collections of work.

How do you describe your work?

It's collage, recycling paper and images from one context and creating a completely new one. It's almost an optical experience, an immersive 2D image that triggers memories and feels like elapsed time, more than a single moment.

Can you explain your process to me?

I gather lots of inspiration. Photos, song lyrics, color combinations from graphic design or fashion patterns. I'm doing this always, subconsciously. When I plot a new figure or image, sometimes I've taken a photograph, sometimes I collaborate with a photographer, or sometimes I conjure the image from many photos. This then becomes my reference, my starting point.Then on a blank canvas, I start with a sharpie drawing of the simple shapes I have in mind. I layer in large magazine pages, as big as I can. I sometimes play digitally as well, designing large shapes, letting shadows run together, letting lines be absent, then filling those shapes with digital textures: subway maps, song lyrics, engine or toy schematics, or other intuitive items that you wouldn't think of together. This digital layer can be printed out and added to the mix of the magazines. Then I let the image wander, stray from my plan. The best part then is the smaller images on the top layer. These can be little still lifes, or text, or a face... and these little moments help me complete the larger image but in an unexpected way. I work quickly. I stop pretty abruptly, when we can see the main image, but not perfectly. I like to have to fight to see it.

What are you looking for when you're looking through magazines, etc.and searching for those special pieces that combine together to form your work?

I used to say I am looking for tones, the values needed to recreate believable light. But I think that part is intuitive to me now and so what I spend my time hunting for is magic - a surprising array of spaces, textures and feelings I can give a new context, a new zen visual poem.

Do you have one series or piece that specifically speaks to you and you think most defines you as an artist?

It would have to be the figures, the women; possibly the nudes. In the best ones, lines are missing, shadows run together, but we feel the larger than life shimmering figure.

Talk some more about commissions. You've done work for Playboy, Hotel Bel-Air, Heineken, New England Journal of Medicine, Rinascente. What do you look for when considering a commission?

It's a great time to be an artist and earn a living at it. Many companies and brands value human expression and recognize that thought provoking art sparks new ideas and says good things about a company and clientele. There's lots of win/win to be had. I am picky - I only work with someone if I click with their vibe and mission. I do love it when I can incorporate deep details, behind the scenes, day to day nuggets that matter to a client - and I can honor those almost like inside jokes for the brand. I've learned to be me even in the commissions.

You were born in New York City, but now call Florida home. Is there anything in the city that you miss?

Well certainly. I would have to bet that NYC, more than any other city, has at least one of everything. There's a store or a space or a potential for anything. It's that potential that is electrifying.

Do you have someone you'd love to do a commissioned piece for?

Lady Gaga - a 3D immersive collage installation, and we film it for a video of course.

The Met Gala. Fashion meets art, live in person sounds like a perfect fit for me to use all my magic.

Where do you find most of your artistic inspiration?

I seem to enjoy the gap between art forms, or between "languages" as I like to think of it. The things words cannot convey. The feeling of live music. The electricity of mixing disciplines. The thrilling discomfort of how different people create and express. Surprising new context. Maybe I get my inspiration as a collage of moments from real life, or not.

Did you have that a-ha moment when you felt you'd made it as an artist?

It's always clawing and scratching. I worked 15 years in corporate, commercial, cubicle art jobs. I was 37 when I took my leap. So probably shortly after that - when I drove to Miami with a few canvases in my car and no idea how Art Basel worked, I walked South Beach and into each hotel and asked if I could have a show - and one said: "Sure, tomorrow night in the bar." And I had a show (poorly lit by candlelight!). And one woman absolutely loved a piece - and made it hers. That felt like I was on the right track.

Any upcoming exhibits or collaborations you're working on at the moment?

Currently on view near NYC, my work is being shown at See my work at Sandra Morgan Interiors in Greenwich, CT.

My work can also be seen at Parlor Gallery in Asbury Park, NJ

If you've enjoyed Elizabeth’s blog here on Manhattan Minds, don’t miss the next one! SIGN UP to the Manhattan Minds newsletter to get the next blog, invitations and discount offers delivered right to your inbox.

FOLLOW and JOIN the conversation on social media: @ManhattanMinds on Instagram and Pinterest .

Manhattan Minds is an inspired blog on New York City Art, Beauty, Fashion and Lifestyle.

Author: Elizabeth Hazard

Elizabeth Hazard is a creative director, producer and writer with several years of experience producing content for magazines, websites, brands and artists. Liz has worked with some of the most accomplished talents in the industry to conceive, develop and produce photos, videos and written work. A published author, she frequently writes about fashion, art and cultural topics for websites and publications. She also holds a certificate in curating from Node Center for Curatorial Studies in Germany.