Embroil

March 7 to 23, 2025

Artist Statement

My installations and mixed-media sculptures frequently incorporate modified manufactured objects, wood, metal, electro-mechanical components, lighting, and audio. I invite viewers into my works with theatrical gestures, then subject them to visceral conditions of threat. The sculptures are crafted with a focused austerity that often reflects fears, compulsions, and embodiment. With glimpses of the uncanny, my sculptures leave one suspended within hypnotic uncertainty. My art practice engages us viscerally and conceptually, implicating us within the agency of things.

Opening night:

Friday, March 7, 2025, 7 to 9 p.m.

Gallery hours:

Continues every weekend from Saturday, March 8 until Sunday, February 23
from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

About the Artist

Derk Wolmuth, a sculptor and installation artist from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, was deeply immersed in the coastal island environment and sailing culture from a young age. Influenced by 1980s punk critique, he spent many years inhabiting DIY living spaces in liminal zones. Subsequently, he integrated psychological reflection with a material practice in woodworking. As an arts undergraduate, he was introduced to Post-minimalism, Arte-Povera, and conceptual strategies. As a graduate student, he was influenced by Kinetic Art, Institutional Critique, Relational Aesthetics, and the Land Art movements. Notably, he embarked on a solo transatlantic voyage across the Pacific Ocean aboard a 32-foot sailboat. Currently, he is enrolled in the European Graduate School program of Philosophy, Art, and Social Thought, with a specific focus on Post-humanism.

His degrees include an MFA from Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA in 2011 and a BFA from Emily Carr University in Vancouver, BC in 2005, a Philosophy BA in 1996, and a Cultural Studies MA in 2021 from Trent University, Peterborough, Ont.

You can see more of Derk’s work at derkwolmuth.ca and on Instagram.

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Xchanges gratefully acknowledges the support of the Province of British Columbia and the Capital Regional District for our gallery programs.