Lot
30
Retreat
Oil on canvas, 2015
61 x 81 cm
Estimate
$2 750
Retreat is from a series that refers to the detachment of power structures by way of tactical geography. Depicting ambiguity of scale and event, the brightly lit maquette appears flesh-like and morbid. Like the Rock of Gibraltar, its historical relevance as a colonial stronghold or modern-day tax shelter and tourism destination points toward the mutuality of colonialism and capitalism – the estranged landscape adapting to evolving conditions in the globalized system of control.
Biographical note
John Player was born in Victoria, Canada, in 1983. He completed his MFA in painting at Concordia University in 2014. He has shown in solo and group exhibitions in Canada, the United States, and Greece. His work has been featured in Volta New York and Art Toronto, and in 2015 he was a finalist in the RBC Canadian Painting Competition. He has participated in fellowship residencies at the Vermont Studio Center, Omi International Arts Center, the International Symposium of Contemporary Art of Baie-Saint-Paul, and the Banff Centre for the Arts. His work is in corporate collections such as the Bank of Montreal and Groupe Courchesne Larose.