Darryl Westly American, b. 1989

Darryl Westly is a mixed media artist and curator whose paintings layer hyperrealism, architectural elements with idealized landscapes and art historical references. Westly graduated from Pratt Institute as a sculpture major and holds a BFA from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and the Arts. A former assistant to celebrity pop artist Jeff Koons, the Chicago-born painter currently works alongside the art collective Bruce High Quality in Brooklyn and in his studio in Manhattan. He has curated shows for Christie’s Auction House, FiveMyles and Miranda Kuo, and most recently was commissioned to design a Digital watch for Fossil.

The artist uses bright, tropical colours to capture the sentiment of the American dream, which he titles his first series of work. The vibrant florals and well-constructed architectural designs imply a pleasurable and much-needed vacation from the quotidian life, taking the viewer on a journey into a coastal destination. However, Westly took a stance on the national ethos, “the legend of American exceptionalism and the reality of current of events has created a steep contrast between the dream and reality of what this country really represents throughout the world today.” He started with foods, particularly the most popular foods in America as recorded by internet trends and decided to paint the early images in a photorealist style that recalls mass-market consumerist advertisements. Eventually he began to use those images found within popular design and travel magazines after being struck by the often-colonizing language used to exotify certain countries while regaling others.

Through his work, Westly shows impressive variety in style, as his second collection of work is vastly different from his more standard work. His second series, The Sleepless has been by extension a diary or catalogue of his time maturing in New York city where the paintings are more ostentatious, with flashy neon fluorescent lights lighting up the night of the urban city. For the new series interior/exterior ‘landscapes’, Westly uses the streets, walls and architecture of Beirut as his inspiration. Colour, voids, shadows and light merge to create a perspective to the past, present and future of the city.

Darryl Westly’s works have been exhibited in London, Athens and across USA. In 2016, he was awarded a residency with Beirut Art Residency, Lebanon. 

Born in 1989 in Chicago, United States.

Lives and works in New York.

Solo Exhibition

2019     Interior/Exterior, PARISTEXASLA Gallery, Los Angeles, USA.

Group Exhibitions

2020     In Full Bloom, Cuturi Gallery, Singapore

              Fragmented Bodies, Albertz Benda, New York, USA            

2019     Vanquishing Ocular Curated by David Salle and Nicole Wittenberg,

              Rental Gallery, East Hampton, USA

              Tabula Rasa: The 26th Annual Watermill Center Summer Benefit and Auction,                The Watermill Center, Watermill, USA

              100 Sculptures, Von Ammon Co and Anonymous gallery, Paris, France

              Chromatic Reveries, Nars Foundation, New York, USA

              Signs Foretelling, Rata Projects, New York, USA

              Classic Nouveau, Latchkey Gallery, New York, USA

              Independent Art Book Fair, 307 Kent Avenue, New York, USA

              10 years / 100 Sculptures, Anonymous Gallery, Mexico City, Mexico

              01: Never Mind The Bollocks, Latchkey Gallery, New York, USA

              Pleasure Over Matter, Private Collection, San Francisco, USA

              Meet Us At The Dumpster Fire, That That Gallery, Los Angeles, USA

              Ways to Die, The Bruce High Quality Foundation, Brooklyn, New York, USA

2017     Close, But Not Touching, Biggercode Gallery, New York, USA

              Only With the Heart Can One See Rightly, FiveMyles, New York, USA

              ATM-Cigarettes-Flowers-Lottery God Bless Deli, Wayfarers Gallery and Space 

              Heater Gallery, New York, USA

              Sea Change, Miranda Kuo Gallery, New York, USA

              Shed, Christies Fine Art Services Storage, Christies Summer Preview, Red         

              Hook, New York, USA

              Art Athina with Club Pro LA and The Institute for New Feeling, Tae kwon Do                    Pavillion, Athens, Greece

              (=Everything is Perfect Here), Spring/Break Art Fair, New York, USA

2016     Palma, Palmiers, Palm, Dickinson Roundell, New York, USA

              Summer Group Show of New York Artists, Coburn Projects, London, UK

              On Ishton's Porch, Hou Yee Chan Gallery, Los Angeles, USA

2015     Scent,Dickinson Roundell, New York, USA

              The Gruin Transfer, Solomon Arts Gallery, New York, USA

              Strangers Forming a group waiting to Kiss, Motel Gallery New York, USA

2013     It's Juice is a Medicine for the Eyes, What it Is Gallery, Chicago, USA

2012     The New Americana, New Capital Projects, Chicago, USA

              Screens, 41 Cooper Gallery, New York, USA

2011     End of Story, 41 Cooper Gallery, New York, USA

Residencies

2016     Beirut Art Residency Program, Beirut Art Residency, Beirut, Lebanon