"Smoke Break 2 (Drywaller) is a kind of sequel to my first work dealing with this subject 'Sous-Chef on Smoke Break'. The Smoke Break series is inspired by observed events. Here I witnessed a plasterer having a cigarette break on Main Street while standing on the strange metal stilts these tradespeople often wear to reach high wall.

I was showing images of Sous Chef and the Drywaller to my friend the artist David Batchelor who suggested to me the idea of continuing the series as the four season since I already had summer (the background of the Sous Chef piece clearly suggests summer) and winter (the snow effect of the powdered plaster, the 'snowflake' pattern on the wall, the space heater in the Drywaller) and thus the idea of the series was born. so then I started thinking what I would do for the remaining two seasons. I only later realized that the character in Sous Chef was working at a restaurant called Seasons (the name is embroidered on his jacket).

I was also interested in the painterly aspects of preparing drywall. the scene behind me looks a bit like a Torrone..."

— Rodney Graham, 2013

"Smoke Break 2 (Drywaller) is a kind of sequel to my first work dealing with this subject 'Sous-Chef on Smoke Break'. The Smoke Break series is inspired by observed events. Here I witnessed a plasterer having a cigarette break on Main Street while standing on the strange metal stilts these tradespeople often wear to reach high wall.

I was showing images of Sous Chef and the Drywaller to my friend the artist David Batchelor who suggested to me the idea of continuing the series as the four season since I already had summer (the background of the Sous Chef piece clearly suggests summer) and winter (the snow effect of the powdered plaster, the 'snowflake' pattern on the wall, the space heater in the Drywaller) and thus the idea of the series was born. so then I started thinking what I would do for the remaining two seasons. I only later realized that the character in Sous Chef was working at a restaurant called Seasons (the name is embroidered on his jacket).

I was also interested in the painterly aspects of preparing drywall. the scene behind me looks a bit like a Torrone..."

— Rodney Graham, 2013

"Smoke Break 2 (Drywaller) is a kind of sequel to my first work dealing with this subject 'Sous-Chef on Smoke Break'. The Smoke Break series is inspired by observed events. Here I witnessed a plasterer having a cigarette break on Main Street while standing on the strange metal stilts these tradespeople often wear to reach high wall.

I was showing images of Sous Chef and the Drywaller to my friend the artist David Batchelor who suggested to me the idea of continuing the series as the four season since I already had summer (the background of the Sous Chef piece clearly suggests summer) and winter (the snow effect of the powdered plaster, the 'snowflake' pattern on the wall, the space heater in the Drywaller) and thus the idea of the series was born. so then I started thinking what I would do for the remaining two seasons. I only later realized that the character in Sous Chef was working at a restaurant called Seasons (the name is embroidered on his jacket).

I was also interested in the painterly aspects of preparing drywall. the scene behind me looks a bit like a Torrone..."

— Rodney Graham, 2013