Bio
Derek Haffar has cast a huge variety of things, from prosthetic horns for an overly aggressive Ibex for WCS to cracks in N.Y. sidewalks for trip and fall lawyers. Currently he is using the figure, concentrating on the subtleties of texture and moods. His work reflects a view that sees things coming together and falling apart all at once; slices of time. Although the recent work is sculptural it often crosses disciplines sometimes manifesting as photographic series or performances with the objects as props. Most recently a show of large photographs at Melville House in Brooklyn documented a series of cast silicon dance shoes designed to facilitate mark making and drawing with the feet of a dancer. Dance and dancers figure prominently in the current projects. Body casting with rubber and alginate molds to produce plaster positives is the dominant technique employed, a process that can be remarkably close to photography.
Derek is from the mid-Hudson valley, received his BFA from the University of Utah in drawing and painting; MFA from The Milton Avery Graduate School of the Arts at Bard College. He has worked for the wildlife conservation Society as an exhibit specialist and sculptor as well as many name artists and Galleries in N.Y. and internationally. He is based in Brooklyn N.Y now and is currently teaching 3 Dimensional design at Parsons School for Design Strategies in lower Manhattan.
