Elapsing Passages: The art of Derek Stefanuk

You cannot step twice into the same river; for other waters are continually flowing in

                                                                                                                            -Heraclitus of Ephesus

Born in Saskatchewan and turned into a Montrealais, Canadian painter Derek Stefanuk seems to bring the Pre-Socratic philosopher into his practice in a very current way. As he expresses on his statement:

 "I want to relate the human drama to the larger context of nature through painting. Nature, which is constantly changing and us, being one with nature, are in a continual state of change or flux".

 His often distorted characters reflect this transition or passage, capturing them in ephemeral scenarios which often present us with various moments in one image. I feel there is a voyeuristic pleasure in exploring these paintings. They all seem to convey an ongoing action, sometimes just fragments of it, leaving room for past and future moments still to be imagined or dreamed. Some of the images have an erotic charge and some others just a quiet stillness. Either way, they offer an interesting glimpse of the artist's perspective of realism intersected with abstraction. Subject merged with its environment. A real visual treat. 
For your ongoing flux: The paintings of Derek Stefanuk

Derek Stefanuk
(All Images used with permission from the artist)