Hemispheres
Devon Pryce

February 16 to March 18, 2023

Galerie Nicolas Robert Toronto is pleased to present Hemispheres by Devon Pryce. In this exhibition, Pryce expands on the idea of portraiture by building pictures that convey a harmony between life studies and studies in framing, movement, textiles, and architecture. His bodies exist in a state of peaceful discord, grounded in, but always slightly at odds with their environment. Each work operates through a logic of duality, both literally –through the coupling of hands, forearms, figures, and feet– and conceptually, through the proposition of a divided self as self-defense against trauma.

In his fluid treatment of body, clothing, and landscape, Pryce side-steps the conventions of painterly space in favour of a unified stillness, where subjects blend gracefully with their surroundings despite being cut off and contorted to fit within the confines of the canvas. The resulting works are intimate snapshots of empowered beings, embodying equal measures of comfort and melancholy, wise with the knowledge of an expanded narrative that continues outside the picture plane. The disproportionate emphasis on hands and feet further advances Pryce’s ambition to convey deep empathy through these works. Each gesture is an opportunity to enhance our emotional intelligence by connecting with the tangible texture of touch that links self-care with care for others. If, as Pryce suggests, our brain and body are home to the multiple natures of the self, then our most essential act of self-care is to maintain and remodel this home, so that it may perform as a refuge for meaningful exchange. Ultimately, the works in Hemispheres remind us that despite our best efforts, what we nurture is not always what grows, and yet, we are uniquely qualified to uncover the truth in chaos and transform vulnerability into strength.

Devon Pryce is a Toronto-based artist. He holds a BFA in Drawing and Painting from OCAD University. Pryce’s work incorporates painting, digital concepts, and cinematic themes. His work explores issues of anxiety, the practice of introspection, and the effects of displacement. He is interested in the mechanisms humans use to manipulate their surroundings and the influence that those measures have on the psyche. His paintings involve experimental renderings of people, as well as spaces and objects that carry intrinsic significance. They are rendered using a thin application of oil paint that allows for an atmospheric and watery quality in the painting. By a process that often crosses digital media with oil painting, the narrative subject matter exists in a balanced space between fabrication and reality.