Derk Wolmuth, a sculptor and installation artist grew up on Vancouver Island’s south coast in western Canada. Involved with sailing from a young age and later influenced by 1980s punk critique, he inhabiting many DIY living spaces in transitional zones. After completing a degree in Philosophy (Trent University 1996) where he studied Continental and Oriental thought he then integrated a period of deep psychological reflection with the material practice of woodworking. As a visuals arts undergraduate (Emily Carr Institute 2005), he was influenced by Post-minimalism, Arte-Povera, and conceptual strategies. As a MFA student (Carnegie Mellon University 2011), he was influenced by Kinetic Art, Institutional Critique, Relational Aesthetics, and the Land Art movements. Notably from 2012-2020 he embarked on a solo voyage across the Pacific Ocean aboard a 32-foot sailboat named ‘Bartók’. Currently, he is enrolled in the European Graduate School program of Philosophy, Art, and Social Thought, with a special focus on Post-humanism.
Wolmuth’s installations and mixed-media sculptures frequently incorporate modified manufactured objects, wood, metal, electro-mechanical components, lighting, and audio. He invites viewers in with theatrical gestures, then subjects us to possible conditions of threat. His sculptures are crafted with an austerity that focuses us on fears, compulsions, and embodiment. With glimpses of the uncanny, his sculptures leave one suspended within uncertainty. His works engages us bodily and conceptually, implicating us within the hypnotic agency of things.
Wolmuth’s installations and mixed-media sculptures frequently incorporate modified manufactured objects, wood, metal, electro-mechanical components, lighting, and audio. He invites viewers in with theatrical gestures, then subjects us to possible conditions of threat. His sculptures are crafted with an austerity that focuses us on fears, compulsions, and embodiment. With glimpses of the uncanny, his sculptures leave one suspended within uncertainty. His works engages us bodily and conceptually, implicating us within the hypnotic agency of things.
EXHIBITIONS
2025 EMBROIL (solo) Xchanges Gallery, Victoria, BC
2025 Fümms bö wö täa zää Uu, Philip T Young Recital Hall, Univ of Victoria, BC
2024 Fibrillation (solo), The Vault Gallery, Victoria, BC
2024 Thresholds, Rockslide Gallery, Victoria. BC
2024 Wall of Worry, Sunday Afternoon - Daniel Laskarin, Victoria, BC
2023 GROT (solo), The Fifty Fifty, Victoria, BC
2023 Banniere, Sunday Afternoon - Daniel Laskarin, Victoria, BC
2022 Form & Ephemera, Rockslide Gallery, Victoria, BC
2015 Outside/Inside, Gallery 1580, Victoria, BC
2011 SCALE, Trahern Gallery – Austin Peay University, Clarksville, TN
2010 SCALE, SPACE Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA
2010 Escape Pittsburgh, Miller Gallery – Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
2009 Magnetic Capsules, Ellis Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA
2009 Potato/Tomato, Future Tenant, Pittsburgh, PA
2008 Meet the Made, The Mattress Factory, Pittsburgh, PA
2007 Peepholes and Periscopes, Future Tenant, Pittsburgh, PA
2007 The Uncanny Valley, Brew House Space 101 Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA
2006 New Forms Festival, VIVO Media Arts Centre, Vancouver, BC
2005 Graduation Exhibit, Emily Carr University, Vancouver, BC
2003 Awkward, Emily Carr University, Vancouver, BC
EDUCATION
M.F.A. 2011 Visual Art - Sculpture, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
B.F.A. 2005 Visual Arts - General, Emily Carr University, Vancouver, BC
M.A. 2021 Cultural Studies Trent University, Peterborough, ON
B.A. 1996 Philosophy w/ Honours, Trent University, Peterborough, ON
Diploma 1998 Wooden Boatbuilding NW School of Wooden Boatbuilding, PortTownsend, WA
Certificate 2018 Business Admin University of Victoria, Continuing Studies, Victoria, BC
Certificate 1997 Fine Woodworking Selkirk College, Nelson, BC
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
2020 Teaching Integrated Arts, Trent University
2019 Teaching Contemporary Media Studies, Trent University
2010 Teaching Mixed Media Sculpture, Carnegie Mellon University
2010 Teaching Advanced Metals, Carnegie Mellon University
2010 Teaching Mixed Media Sculpture (Pre-College), Carnegie Mellon University
2009 Graduate Teaching Assistant Kinetic Sculpture (Joe Mannino), Carnegie Mellon University
2009 Graduate Teaching Assistant Visual Culture (Melissa Ragona), Carnegie Mellon University
2008 Graduate Teaching Assistant Small Metals (Carol Kumata), Carnegie Mellon University
2008 Graduate Teaching Assistant Drawing (Andrew Johnson), Carnegie Mellon University
2007 Graduate Teaching Assistant Mixed Media Sculpture (Bob Bingham), Carnegie Mellon University
2025 EMBROIL (solo) Xchanges Gallery, Victoria, BC
2025 Fümms bö wö täa zää Uu, Philip T Young Recital Hall, Univ of Victoria, BC
2024 Fibrillation (solo), The Vault Gallery, Victoria, BC
2024 Thresholds, Rockslide Gallery, Victoria. BC
2024 Wall of Worry, Sunday Afternoon - Daniel Laskarin, Victoria, BC
2023 GROT (solo), The Fifty Fifty, Victoria, BC
2023 Banniere, Sunday Afternoon - Daniel Laskarin, Victoria, BC
2022 Form & Ephemera, Rockslide Gallery, Victoria, BC
2015 Outside/Inside, Gallery 1580, Victoria, BC
2011 SCALE, Trahern Gallery – Austin Peay University, Clarksville, TN
2010 SCALE, SPACE Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA
2010 Escape Pittsburgh, Miller Gallery – Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
2009 Magnetic Capsules, Ellis Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA
2009 Potato/Tomato, Future Tenant, Pittsburgh, PA
2008 Meet the Made, The Mattress Factory, Pittsburgh, PA
2007 Peepholes and Periscopes, Future Tenant, Pittsburgh, PA
2007 The Uncanny Valley, Brew House Space 101 Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA
2006 New Forms Festival, VIVO Media Arts Centre, Vancouver, BC
2005 Graduation Exhibit, Emily Carr University, Vancouver, BC
2003 Awkward, Emily Carr University, Vancouver, BC
EDUCATION
M.F.A. 2011 Visual Art - Sculpture, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
B.F.A. 2005 Visual Arts - General, Emily Carr University, Vancouver, BC
M.A. 2021 Cultural Studies Trent University, Peterborough, ON
B.A. 1996 Philosophy w/ Honours, Trent University, Peterborough, ON
Diploma 1998 Wooden Boatbuilding NW School of Wooden Boatbuilding, PortTownsend, WA
Certificate 2018 Business Admin University of Victoria, Continuing Studies, Victoria, BC
Certificate 1997 Fine Woodworking Selkirk College, Nelson, BC
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
2020 Teaching Integrated Arts, Trent University
2019 Teaching Contemporary Media Studies, Trent University
2010 Teaching Mixed Media Sculpture, Carnegie Mellon University
2010 Teaching Advanced Metals, Carnegie Mellon University
2010 Teaching Mixed Media Sculpture (Pre-College), Carnegie Mellon University
2009 Graduate Teaching Assistant Kinetic Sculpture (Joe Mannino), Carnegie Mellon University
2009 Graduate Teaching Assistant Visual Culture (Melissa Ragona), Carnegie Mellon University
2008 Graduate Teaching Assistant Small Metals (Carol Kumata), Carnegie Mellon University
2008 Graduate Teaching Assistant Drawing (Andrew Johnson), Carnegie Mellon University
2007 Graduate Teaching Assistant Mixed Media Sculpture (Bob Bingham), Carnegie Mellon University
