Derek Gores tempts the senses in his collage works, recycling magazines, maps, data and other paper materials in his lush figurative works. Considered part of the Pop Surrealism or New Contemporary Movement, Gores exhibits globally, with a client and collector list including Prada, Playboy, Rinascente, Madonna, EA Sports, New England Journal of Medicine, Lincoln Motor Company, Dwell Magazine, Tag Heuer, the National Football League and more. Gores was commissioned as the 2013 Official Artist of the Kentucky Derby, was honored to have his work selected for the Manifest Hope DC exhibit coinciding with the Presidential Inauguration in 2009, and in 2010 was called "One of the 40 important artists of the New Contemporary Movement", while in an exhibition in London. In 2017 Gores was commissioned by Playboy Magazine to capture the legacy of Hugh Hefner in a portrait. His works hook you in a luxurious sensory experience with the classic ideals of fashion and travel. Further exploration reveals a modern feminist strength rendered in the freshest of techniques, where the raw ripped scraps give an abstract power. Gores' visual influences of Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Franz Kline, mix with the playful spirit of Rube Goldberg, and a poetic freedom with words as well. "I like my pictures to barely come together with teasing little details, where the small pictures add up to a larger one in an unexpected way, maybe triggering memories or daydreams. One friend calls it a 'Zen Narrative', where the story is out in front of me. I enjoy the gap between what you see and what you think you see." Gores' studio is in Melbourne, Florida, where the Space Coast tech intellect mixes with surf culture for a dynamic range of inspiration and wide open blue skies under which to work. - - - Materials note:Works are on canvas or wood panel.Glue is Archival Liquitex Medium., Top varnish is Golden UV.What I say to collectors regarding use of recycled materials: I use a UV varnish to help protect the pieces from light. As with all fine art originals, I do not recommend hanging in direct or strong indirect natural light. Artificial is best. Most recycled papers going back to Andy Warhol and Robert Rauschenberg etc are not "acid-free" and therefore they will change over time. Keeping the pieces out of natural light helps them last much longer.