Catriona Jeffries

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.

Knowles has exhibited her work in solo exhibitions in Berlin, Toronto, Brooklyn and Vancouver. Group exhibitions include such venues as Vancouver Art Gallery, Night Gallery, Los Angeles, and SFU Gallery, Charles H. Scott Gallery, the Western Front, Or Gallery and Unit Pitt, Vancouver. Knowles has participated in residency programs in Europe and she has received grants from the Toronto Arts Council, the Ontario Arts Council, British Columbia Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts, and was awarded the Mayor’s Arts Award as an Emerging Artist in Public Art. She has taught at Emily Carr University of Art and Design, Simon Fraser University, the University of Victoria, and is currently a faculty member at Langara College, snəw̓eyəɬ leləm̓. Knowles’ work is included in the collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery. She lives and works in Vancouver, Canada.

Documentation by Rachel Topham Photography.