Darryl Westly: A Dream Deferred

Exhibition Dates: September 8 – October 23, 2021

39 White Street, Tribeca

Opening: Wednesday, September 8 from 6 – 8pm

1969 Gallery presents A Dream Deferred, Darryl Westly’s first solo exhibition at the gallery, consisting of paintings made during 2021. Confronting events both in the public and personal realms during the COVID-19 pandemic, Darryl Westly’s paintings explore the question of what becomes of unrealized dreams and ambitions.

Friends of the artist are depicted in many of Westly's paintings, exploring his personal relationship with his subjects as each person faces the reality of life pre-, during, and post-quarantine. Unable to travel, falling out of love and unable to see loved ones, these

painted “dreams” are composed of memories, associations and photographs that take the place of reality within these paintings. The imagery in Westly’s paintings brings these people and places together into explosive expressionistic scenes, with interiors and exteriors blooming into one another.

Westly’s paintings also confront events from the last year that have been embedded in public memory on a global scale, such as the death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, the explosion in Beirut, Lebanon on August 20, 2020, and the storming of the United States Capital on January 6, 2021.

The depiction of personal and global events in A Dream Deferred complement each other to tell a larger story of Westly’s reflection upon the past year and his confrontation with old dreams and the discovery of new hope and pursuits as the world begins to reopen.

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up

like a raisin in the sun

Or fester like a sore—

And then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat?

Or crust and sugar over—

like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags

like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

- Langston Hughes, "Harlem" from Montage of a Dream Deferred, 1951

Darryl Westly (b. 1989 Chicago, IL) lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. He received his BFA from the Cooper Union in 2014 and previously completed the Pratt Institute Sculpture Program. After graduating, Westly was recruited to work as a finish painter under artist Jeff Koons. In 2016, he participated in the Beirut Art Residency Program. He has had a solo exhibition at ParisTexasLA Gallery LA, included in notable group exhibitions including Vanquishing Ocular curated by David Salle and Nicole Wittenberg at East Hampton’s Rental Gallery, Ways To Die by The Bruce High Quality Foundation, been featured as part of Art Central Hong Kong with Cuturi Gallery in SIngapore and has exhibited as part of the Watermill Gala’s Annual Benefit, and has shown with the Nars Foundation in New York. Currently, he paints full-time and exhibits his work internationally. Darryl worked additionally as an independent curator, art advisor and is a board member of the fundraising initiative Black Artist Fund. His work and practice has been reviewed in Interview, Juxtapose, Whitewall, Artnet, Surface Magazine, Artsy and Office Magazine among others. His studio is in Industry City, Brooklyn.

About 1969 Gallery

Founded in September 2016, 1969 Gallery is a contemporary art gallery devoted primarily to painting and painters. Through solo exhibitions, exhibitions worldwide and art fair presentations, the Gallery supports the practices, ideas and careers of its represented artists. Our project space broadens our work to include all contemporary art forms, emerging, mid-career and established artists, book projects and artist community-based initiatives.

Follow 1969 Gallery on Instagram via @1969gallery.

For further information or to request images, members of the media may contact:

Quang Bao: Quang@1969gallery.com

Madeline Ehrlich: Madeline@1969gallery.com