Artist Statement
Architecture can be home, an office, a place that inspires, or a place best forgotten. It is our creation, it surrounds us and it facilitates our human lives. But it is as mortal as we are. In one way or another, these constructions are doomed to suffer eventual deconstruction. My work is inspired by this process of decay.
A variety of source materials and an array of processes allow me to delve into this inevitable entropy and express imagined fates as images and objects. I’ve photographed discarded appliances to create derelict retro-futurist industrial and residential structures. I’ve transformed abandoned cultural artifacts into scale models of a notoriously temporary building, the ice fishing hut. Most recently I documented abandoned structures throughout North America to create images that presuppose a metaphysical existence for buildings, an afterlife for abandoned architecture.
Despite the morbid nature of the concept of material death, this work is not about blight and grave seriousness. Compositional mischief and playful colour foil the sobering grey. This work demonstrates my interest in the things we build and an irreverent fascination with how they inevitably come apart.
bio:
By combining digital prototyping processes with traditional fabrication methods David Trautrimas continues to explore new territory in his practice, building on his international reputation for innovative photo-based techniques. Focusing on themes relating to architecture Trautrimas uses everyday objects and cultural artifacts to explore urban living and industrialization, do it yourself buildings and the afterlife of architecture.
Notable solo exhibitions by Trautrimas have been held at Photoeye Gallery (Santa Fe) Johansson Projects (Oakland) Hartell Gallery Cornell University (Ithaca) and LE Gallery (Toronto).
His work has also appeared in museum exhibitions at The Museum of Canadian Contemporary Art (Toronto) and The Korean Arts Centre (Seoul) . His work has been shown at international art fairs, including Photo L.A, PhotoMiami and the Toronto International Art Fair. He has received international acclaim from publications such as ArtNews, The Globe and Mail, and The New York Times.
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