Rhys Douglas Farrell | Optimatic

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Rhys Douglas Farrell, “A Mirage In The Moment," 2022

acrylic and aerosol on wood panel, 36” x 40”. Courtesy of the Gallery.

Opening Reception, Saturday, March 18^th from 2 to 5 pm. Artist in Attendance.

New works by Calgary-based artist, Rhys Douglas Farrell.  Optimatic refers to the automatic and immediate interactions between the colours Farrell selects as well as the interactions of the viewer with the works. Inspired by the OpArt movement of the late 1960’s, Farrell uses colour theory and pattern-making to create highly optic works that shift both chromatically and physically.

Farrell has been experimenting with the colour principles discovered by French Chemist, Michel Eugène Chevreul and published in his book, ‘De la loi du contraste simultané des couleurs ‘ in 1839. Through Chevreul’s scientific research, he first discovered that colours when placed next to one another, impact and shift towards the complimentary of their neighbour. This principle is known as simultaneous contrast.

Farrell focuses on the use of line and dots to create dynamic patterns that harness these shifting and rousing colour effects. A number of these works are constructed by layering similar patterns on top of one another creating a moire pattern or three-dimensional effect.

Rhys Douglas Farrell received his Bachelor of Fine Arts (major in Painting) from the Alberta University of the Arts in 2016. Farrell is the recipient of a painting scholarship from the University where he was also the Representative for the Painting Department and the Director of the Student Gallery, Quoin Gallery. He was signed on with the Herringer Kiss Gallery when still a student and his first solo show was named by Canadian Art Magazine as a “Must See”.  He was then featured in a 7-page spread in Branded Magazine in the summer of 2016 and in 2019, Farrell was the recipient of the Alumni Horizon Award from AUArts. Farrell has completed a number of public art projects including Telus Spark Science Center, Beltline Urban Mural Project, the City of Calgary and a number of private commissions. His work has been aggressively collected by private and corporate collections alike and he has completed four international residencies with Pinea & Linea De Costa A.I.R program in Spain, Graniti Murales in Sicily, TARP Program in Kuala Lumpur with Taksu Gallery and Jupiter Fab Artist Residency in Guadalajara, Mexico. His works can also be seen at Hello Sunshine Restaurant in Banff and the Lonely Mouth Restaurant in Calgary.