Catharine Clark Gallery presents Hollow and Swell, an exhibition of new animations and watercolors by Chris Doyle. The works mark the conclusion of Doyle’s extended response to Hudson River School painter Thomas Cole’s iconic five part series, The Course of Empire (1833 – 1836), which depicts a single landscape as it transitions from a pastoral setting to a dense metropolis that finally, through conflict and overpopulation, deteriorates to a site of overgrown ruins. Hollow and Swell draws inspiration from the central painting of the cycle, The Consummation of Empire (1836), which imagines a neo-classical civilization at its apex. Whereas Cole’s painting responded to a shift from agrarian to mechanized society during the Industrial Revolution, Doyle’s work considers the impacts of digital technology on a rapidly proliferating cultural landscape.
The centerpiece of Catharine Clark Gallery’s presentation is Swell, a 4K digital animation with an original score by Emmy-nominated composer Jeremy Turner as performed by Flux Quartet. Swell imagines a city that has grown to unprecedented heights at a historical juncture where industrialization has yielded to a technological revolution. Natural environments are obstructed by buildings and structures throughout Doyle’s animation, a salient metaphor for our attempts to control nature through modes of expansion that undermine our most basic needs for survival. On October 27 and 28 at 7:30pm, Eos Ensemble will perform Jeremy Turner’s score at Catharine Clark Gallery as part of BOX BLUR 2.0. Tickets for the event will also be available through Eventbrite. Seating is limited.
Catharine Clark Gallery’s presentation of Hollow and Swell coincides with the launch of BOX BLUR 2.0, a series of concerts, film screenings and conversations. In its second year, BOX BLUR is the non-profit wing of the gallery and part of an ongoing initiative to support performance programming and education. Partners for BOX BLUR 2.0 include Chris Doyle, Words on Dance, the San Francisco Dance Film Festival, Jeremy Turner, Eos Ensemble and Alice Gray Stites on behalf of 21c Museum Hotels.
Please join us for an opening reception on September 9 from 3 – 6pm, as well as our inaugural event for BOX BLUR 2.0: a conversation with Chris Doyle and Alice Gray Stites, Chief Curator and Museum Director of 21c Museum Hotels. Beginning at 4:30pm, Doyle and Stites will discuss the works on view in Hollow and Swell, as well as their multiple collaborations through 21c, including Dreams on Infinite Luster, currently on view at 21c Museum Hotel in Durham, NC.
Check gallery website for hours and additional info
