This Week's Brooklyn Calendar of Events

'STEALTH: ARTISTS ABOVE THE RADAR'

COLLIN VAN DER SLUIJS / DEREK SHUMATE

FEBRUARY 13 - March 6, 2010

OPENING RECEPTION: FEBRUARY 13, 7:00 -10:00PM EASTERN

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Brooklynite Gallery is proud to present our first exhibition of 2010 entitled, 
'Stealth: Artists Above The Radar', featuring the works of Collin Van Der Sluijs 
and Derek Shumate. From February 13 to March 6th, we offer up our gallery walls 
as a soapbox for these two under-exposed artists from different ends of the world, 
both of who use their canvases much like mental filing cabinets to store information 
full of free expression and socio-political views. Follow us, if you will, on these 
two hypothetical journeys.

Imagine a blender that can be filled with ripe pieces of paper containing creative 
juices, leafy ideas and plump inspirations. Imagine that it can also be filled with 
lush subconscious thoughts, including healthy, fresh social and political views. Add 
in a sprinkling of vivid, circular planet-like shapes. But wait, this recipe doesn’t 
only contain ingredients that are good for you. Now, add in black smoke stacks, toxic 
chemicals and dust-covered landscapes. Top it off with disproportionately sized 
animal/human hybrids covered in oil-based liquids. Flip the “on” switch to this blender 
and watch as it mixes and intermingles these colorful thoughts, robust ideals and tart 
visions. Pop the top and pour directly on a canvas. …You’ve just recreated the work of 
Dutch “Pop-Fantasy Life” painter, Collin Van Der Sluijs.

Imagine if you will, a Houston-born, abstract artist by the name of Derek Shumate with 
multi-colored, circuitry wires running out from the back of his head. These wires 
immediately transfer a continuous flow of conscious thoughts from the portal to new 
mediums and surfaces for fear of losing spontaneity. Bold colors, upon layers and 
layers of torn bits of information, which often resemble a topographical map, are 
collected from various sources, including but not limited to, personal tragedies, 
today’s headlines and the artists’ imagination. These issues appear to be clouding, as 
they often do in life, the human existence as it relates to the environment. This 
obsessive-compulsive process produces work that is free from traditional morals or 
social constraints and like a young adolescent, expresses opinions full of honesty. 
That is ---to those that can decode the artist’s messages. 

Check out more of their work here: http://www.collinvandersluijs.com / http://www.derekshumate.com