Kern Samuel's 'IM' at Derosia Explores Swimming, Materiality, and Creolization
Kern Samuel's third solo exhibition, IM, is currently on display at Derosia in New York, showcasing nine diverse new artworks. Among these are three unframed textile pieces: Backstroke, inspired by swimming flags, and Red Banner, symbolizing creolization. Another piece, Double Knee, crafted from coated canvas scraps, mimics denim. Material experimentation led to three smaller panel works: Death Mask, Another Spiral, and Gateway. The title IM alludes to the Individual Medley swimming event. Additionally, framed collages Lane Four and Lane Five reflect the lines of a swimming pool. Lifeguard incorporates hand-thinned DuPont styrofoam within an existing frame. Samuel, born in 1990 in Mount Hope, Trinidad and Tobago, currently resides in Hudson, NY. His future exhibitions include The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum (2026) and MoMA PS1 (2024).
Key facts
- IM is Kern Samuel's third solo exhibition at Derosia in New York
- The show comprises nine new works governed by a logic of difference and heterogeneity
- Backstroke is made from a grey wool safety blanket and military grosgrain ribbon, referencing competitive swimming flags
- Red Banner combines wool from a hunting jacket with African mud cloth on an indigo-dyed shibori banner, serving as a creolization metaphor
- Double Knee originated from coated canvas off-cuts found in the English countryside, dyed to resemble denim and built from a 2022 Paloma Wool collaboration pant
- Three panel works—Death Mask, Another Spiral, and Gateway—use materials including DuPont styrofoam, expired insects, and compostable produce bags
- The title IM references the Individual Medley, a swimming event requiring four different strokes
- Kern Samuel was born in 1990 in Mount Hope, Trinidad and Tobago and lives in Hudson, NY
Entities
Artists
- Kern Samuel
- Paloma Wool
Institutions
- Derosia
- The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum
- MoMA PS1
- Bonner Kunstverein
- The Africa Center
- White Columns
- Soft Opening
- Bad Water
- Art Basel
- Croy Nielsen
- the bunker
- Bodega
- Gallery Aferro
- Theresa A. Maloney Art Gallery
- College of Saint Elizabeth
- Jeffrey Stark
Locations
- New York
- United States
- Mount Hope
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Hudson
- Ridgefield
- Connecticut
- Queens
- Bonn
- Germany
- London
- United Kingdom
- Knoxville
- Tennessee
- Vienna
- Austria
- Santa Monica Mountains
- California
- Newark
- New Jersey
- Morristown