David Briker talks about 5 new paintings of 6 artists' things, in Objets de peu d’importance
Saya Oiwa, by David Briker
IN THE EXHIBIT Objets de peu d’importance, Vancouver-L.A. artist David Briker paints everyday objects that are fascinating not only for their randomness—but also for who owns them.
Briker’s show features six objects collected for each of 15 Vancouver artists—both established and emerging. The result is a curious assortment of gouache-on-paper works depicting everything from Paul Wong’s Chairman Mao little red book of quotations juxtaposed with an empty Pocky box, to an antler gifted to Charlene Vickers from Dolleen Manning alongside her favourite pair of rain-resistant New Balance sneakers.
The works make you think a lot about the meaning of the stuff you surround yourself with, and what you’ll leave behind in this world. But it’s also about connection between artists in this time of disconnect.
As Briker, also well-known for being a musician, graphic designer, and creative talent behind the Some Product fashion line, says in his artist’s statement: “This project started slowly in my house in Echo Park in Los Angeles in December of 2019. After coming back to Vancouver in early 2020, I decided to start doing these paintings with people I knew and whose work I liked and admired. It was never meant as a comprehensive cross section of creatives in any particular place, just as six objects from a person’s home, chosen at random by me, which do not fully define a person.”
Briker has plans to show an L.A. version of his works, and continue the project beyond to Berlin and New York.
For now, through January 2020, you can schedule a private viewing at 11 Gallery, as COVID restrictions permit; see the Objets website here. There’s also a limited-edition hardcover book of the Vancouver works; info is here.
Below, Briker tells Stir the back story behind five of the Vancouver works—randomly chosen, of course.
Saya Oiwa (top)
“This was the second ‘Objects’ painting I did after several paintings of my own stuff, first at my place in LA and then two more in Vancouver. (One is included in the exhibit.) Saya is a good friend of mine and I really like her whimsical drawings and paintings. She's also extremely funny. Hers was the second one I did, and at that time, this was absolutely not a project or a series yet. I simply asked Saya if I could paint 6 of her objects and she loved the idea. After the painting was done, Saya was so touched by the painting that I'd say that her reaction to it really encouraged me to start thinking about doing other people's objects and making this into an ongoing series.”
Paul Wong, by David Briker
Paul Wong
“When I was in college, from time to time we would get artists to come in and speak. One of them was Paul. I remember very well how much I liked this very hip-looking and energetic guy. He seemed so very relatable and his enthusiasm seemed infectuous. I didn’t meet him socially until years later through mutual friends. I really love the fact that Paul is constantly working and always with multiple projects and ideas on the go, which is how I believe most artists operate. The brain does not let you stop. With Paul, I visited his beautiful studio in Chinatown rather than his home. I tried to pick random objects that struck me for whatever reason. The Pocky box, which is quite prominent in his painting, was plucked from Paul's garbage. He had tonnes of candy snacks in the studio and I had absolutely no idea that a lean guy like Paul loved candy so much.”
Drew Shaffer, by David Briker
Drew Shaffer
“I have known Drew for a long time. We first met when he asked me to make a short art film for him. That turned out really well and since then we have been friends and often artistic bouncing boards for one another. Drew is supremely knowledgeable about art, design, and many other things. His knowledge and pure enthusiasm for art is incredible. He is also a very interesting artist and has always done very inspiring work. With Drew, the challenge was to focus on only six objects. Since he has worked in antiques most of his life, his home is filled with an endless assortment of curious and beautiful objects. I had to work hard to actually find a balance, as one tends to get overwhelmed with so much visual stimulus when visiting his place. And of course with Drew, he can, in detail, tell you every imaginable fact about most of them. It was my goal to actually find objects that were mundane and ordinary. The lowly and ubiquitous broken USB block that most of us have was a great find and also in some way very telling. It was interesting that this was kept among antiques in a drawer. Since then I have made that image a sort of a logo of the whole ‘Objects’ project. It came to perfectly represent an Object of Little Importance in my mind.”
Charlene Vickers, by David Briker
Charlene Vickers
“Charlene is someone I have known for quite a long time, but didn’t see her often throughout the years. Her name came up when I was at Paul's studio and he told me that Charlene's workspace was just across the street from his in Chinatown. When I visited her studio in the summertime, Charlene was getting ready for a solo show in September. I got to see her beautiful new paintings and it was a really great to hang out and reconnect. There are a number of instances where this project has reconnected me with people and this was definitely one of them.”
Zak David, by David Briker
Zak David
“Zak's painting was special to me because it was the last of the Vancouver series. When I went to visit Zak at his home/studio loft it was my first time at his place. Zak showed me some of his work, which I found pretty interesting and inspiring. He also had so much great stuff that I actually took way more than six objects from him and really had to play with the objects to get the right composition at home. I can say with certainty that the pliers in his painting were by far the most challenging object to paint from the whole series.”
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