The success of local collage artist Derek Gores stretches far beyond the borders of Brevard County. After receiving his BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design, Gores moved back to the area in 2007 to pursue his career in a smaller, beach-town setting.
To give his art an interesting twist, Gores uses recycled magazines, labels, and other scrap materials to create detailed images on canvas and claims that he “trusts randomness to build an end result more interesting than I could have planned.” In his custom commissioned portraits, Gores recreates images using ripped pieces of paper that relate to the subject, including mementos, song lyrics and family photos.
Although Gores resides locally in Melbourne, he’s gained national attention through what he calls “old-fashioned, trial-and-error networking.” So far this year his work has been featured in galleries in Sacramento, Chicago, Los Angeles, and London. Works in progress include commissioned portraits for music stars Ke$ha and Aerosmith and concert poster designs for Led Zeppelin.
Gores is also working on six commissioned pieces for display at the new Amway Center, home of the Orlando Magic expected to open this October. The portraits are up to six feet tall and include one of Dwight Howard and another of the city of Orlando. Back on the Space Coast, Gores is the official poster artist for the upcoming Space Coast Art Festival, which takes place Thanksgiving weekend (November 27-28) in Cocoa Beach. His work will also be featured in the SLOW Gallery solo exhibit “Once Removed” opening October 23 in Melbourne.
To give back to the community, Gores will host several collage workshops at the Brevard Art Museum and the Vero Beach Art Museum this fall. He believes that “in order to gain recognition for your art, it needs to be different, personal, exciting, and bold” and he hopes to pass on some tips to local artists.
For more information about Derek Gores and his work, go to www.derekgores.com. For more information on a workshop by Derek Gores, contact the Brevard Art Museum at (321) 242-0737.
