Devon Knowles: Gone and Going

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Devon Knowles, "Winter Butterfly," 2022

glass, steel, Diptych: 21” x 21” x 4 1/2” each; Total dimensions: 42” x 4 1/2”. Rachel Topham Photography

In Devon Knowles’ new body of work the engineering of materials is implicit as both the subject and process of the work. Through a sustained process of observation, Knowles documents urban sites and neighbourhoods in transition, intuitively noting the recurrence of colours and patterns present in her chosen locations. Her walks through neighbourhoods are filtered through multiple technologies, as she fragments and reassembles the changing landscapes into aluminum, fused glass, and stained-glass compositions. In describing her work the artist notes that, “texture, colour, their source and the small variations in their physical dimensions are all important. Texture can blow out the colour as the physical light glares on its surface, making it impenetrable from certain points of view. 

What becomes evident at that moment, where it is all surface and you cannot see beyond the glare of external light bouncing, is a temporary boundary.” This idea of boundaries permeates Knowles’ work where her thoughtful use of materials drives the careful examination of spaces, edges, and their human presence.