Zachary Armstrong
GNYP Gallery
Knesebeckstrasse 96, 10623 Berlin
April 28 – June 25, 2017

GNYP Gallery presents an exhibition of new work by Zachary Armstrong, now on view. Armstrong has produced a series of figurative encaustic and oil paintings, as well as a series of encaustic sculptures. The works are based on children’s drawings, both his own and those of his friends, from which Armstrong selects and repeats motifs, exploring the possibilities of each framework. Armstrong recalls the time he spent with a childhood friend, stating “I have never felt more of an artist than I did when I was nine years old, drawing with my friend Keith.” A series of paintings in the exhibition, Crown For Keith, is based on one of the drawings Armstrong produced at the time. Armstrong admires the playful and naïve decisions made by children creating images, suggesting “All the best drawings I did when I was young, I didn’t overthink everything.” In a painting titled Crown For Charlie, Armstrong employs the same naturally surrealistic rendering of features common to children’s drawings, replacing the mouth of a character with a fish: the sculptures in the exhibition are developments on this gesture. Armstrong lives and works in Dayton, Ohio, and this is his first solo exhibition with GNYP Gallery.
 

Installation view, Zachary Armstrong at GNYP Gallery, Berlin, 2017. Courtesy of GNYP Gallery.

Installation view, Zachary Armstrong at GNYP Gallery, Berlin, 2017. Courtesy of GNYP Gallery.

21 Faces, 2017. Oil and encaustic on canvas, 132 x 96 inches. Courtesy of GNYP Gallery.


21 Faces (detail), 2017. Oil and encaustic on canvas, 132 x 96 inches. Courtesy of GNYP Gallery.

Crown For Keith Large XL, 2016-2017. Encaustic and oil on canvas in artist frame, 85 x 91 inches. Courtesy of GNYP Gallery.

Crown For Keith Large XL (detail), 2016-2017. Encaustic and oil on canvas in artist frame, 85 x 91 inches. Courtesy of GNYP Gallery.

Installation view, Zachary Armstrong at GNYP Gallery, Berlin, 2017. Courtesy of GNYP Gallery.