48” x 48” Oil 2026
An avid climber and ski mountaineer, North Vancouver based David Pirrie creates artwork that is multi-dimensional and conceptually layered. Pirrie employs bold coloring and architectural intervention to create his signature mountain portraits, monumentalizing the majesty of the individual mountain by removing it from the context of its surrounding topography. His works draw attention to concepts regarding framing and mapping, while also reminding the viewer of the handmade aspect of complex painting. By excising the mountain from its location, Pirrie abolishes perspective, placing the mountain within and without the picture plane. Pirrie’s art approaches scientific inquiry as his grids, dots, and formal ideas point to the intersection between human time and geological time.
“I really enjoyed art school as I found my tribe. I obtained a BFA from Concordia University in Montreal in 1991 where I had the good fortune to be in an intensive studio driven environment. Great teachers can really make the difference and I was lucky to have had several. My strongest memory and a continuing influence was a quote from Guido Molinari who remarked one day as he wandered by me working was “no work, no matter how conceptually sound, can work as an image if it is not grounded formally”. Fortunately it was a complement. Earlier as a teenager I became an avid mountaineer and ski mountaineer, exploring the rugged wilderness that started in my backyard in North Vancouver. This also led to a fascination with cartography, pouring over maps for hours, plotting out routes for future trips.”
~ david pirrie ~
48” x 48” Oil 2026
An avid climber and ski mountaineer, North Vancouver based David Pirrie creates artwork that is multi-dimensional and conceptually layered. Pirrie employs bold coloring and architectural intervention to create his signature mountain portraits, monumentalizing the majesty of the individual mountain by removing it from the context of its surrounding topography. His works draw attention to concepts regarding framing and mapping, while also reminding the viewer of the handmade aspect of complex painting. By excising the mountain from its location, Pirrie abolishes perspective, placing the mountain within and without the picture plane. Pirrie’s art approaches scientific inquiry as his grids, dots, and formal ideas point to the intersection between human time and geological time.
“I really enjoyed art school as I found my tribe. I obtained a BFA from Concordia University in Montreal in 1991 where I had the good fortune to be in an intensive studio driven environment. Great teachers can really make the difference and I was lucky to have had several. My strongest memory and a continuing influence was a quote from Guido Molinari who remarked one day as he wandered by me working was “no work, no matter how conceptually sound, can work as an image if it is not grounded formally”. Fortunately it was a complement. Earlier as a teenager I became an avid mountaineer and ski mountaineer, exploring the rugged wilderness that started in my backyard in North Vancouver. This also led to a fascination with cartography, pouring over maps for hours, plotting out routes for future trips.”
~ david pirrie ~
