My work mines the debris of memory through the creation of intricate worlds sculpted in 1:43 scale and smaller. Often sealed under glass, the works depict the remnants of things past—whether major, transformational experiences, or the quieter moments that resonate loudly throughout a life. In much the way the mind recalls events through the fog of time, the works distort reality through a warped and dreamlike lens.
The pieces’ radically reduced scales evoke feelings of omnipotence—as well as the visceral sensation of unbidden memory recall. Hovering above the glass, the viewer approaches these worlds as an all-seeing eye, looking down upon landscapes that dwarf and threaten the figures within.
Conversely, the private intensity of moments rendered in such a small scale draws the viewer in, allowing for the intimacy one might feel peering into a museum display case or dollhouse. Though surrounded by chaos, hazard, and longing, the figures’ faces betray little emotion, inviting viewers to lose themselves in these crucibles—and in the jumble of feelings and memories they elicit.
The glass itself contains and compresses the world within it, seeming to suspend time itself—with all its accompanying anguish, fear, and bliss. By sealing the works in this fashion, I hope to distill the debris of human experience down to single, fragile moments. Like blackboxes bobbing in the flotsam, these works wait for discovery, each an indelible record of human memory.
Thomas Doyle
b. 1976, Grand Haven, Michigan
Lives and works in New York
Selected exhibitions
2010
Collateral damage
LeBasse Projects
Culver City, California
Synesthesia 2010
Electric Pear Productions/The Wild Project
New York, New York
The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum's Radius exhibition
Ridgefield Guild of Arts
Ridgefield, Connecticut
Tragic sense of life
Fine Arts Gallery
Westchester Community College
Valhalla, New York
There's no place like here
Tower Fine Arts Gallery
The College at Brockport
Brockport, New York
2009
Eniminiminimos: Artists Who Make Things Small
Jendela Gallery, The Esplanade
Singapore
X: Mixed Greens Anniversary Show
Mixed Greens Gallery
New York, New York
Seasonal change
LeBasse Projects
Culver City, California
Ten
The West Collection
Oaks, Pennsylvania
2008
Next (I)s: Over the Rainbow
Yoo Art Space Gallery / Mushroom Arts
Seoul, South Korea
Forces of Nature
Limn Art Gallery
San Francisco, California
Synthetic Supernova
Mixed Greens Gallery
New York, New York
My little / Membrane
NURTUREart
Brooklyn, New York
31st Small Works Exhibition
80 Washington Square East Galleries
New York, New York
Richard Witter, juror
2007
NYNYNY
Flux Factory
Long Island City, New York
Pretty little things
Gallery Ocho
Santa Barbara, California
Human remains
Go North - A Space for Contemporary Art
Beacon, New York
In summer, the song sings itself
Pentimenti Gallery
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Red Dot Art Fair
With Pentimenti Gallery
New York, New York
30th Small Works Exhibition
80 Washington Square East Galleries
New York, New York
Jim Kempner, juror
2006
Der Hammer Performance & Auction
Chashama
New York, New York
Group Exhibition
Go North - A Space for Contemporary Art
Beacon, New York
Summer Group Show & Auction
3rd Ward Gallery
Brooklyn, New York
Art of the Northeast
Silvermine Guild Gallery
Stamford, Connecticut
Ben Barzune, juror
Not to Scale
Target Gallery
Alexandria, Virginia
David C. Levy, juror
Urban Visionaries
Fourth Annual Award Dinner & Silent Auction
Cooper Union
New York, New York
29th Small Works Exhibition
80 Washington Square East Galleries
New York, New York
Jack Shainman, juror
2004
Summer Exhibition
Grey Healthcare Group
New York, New York
2002
(all you're houses)
Art Quad
Humboldt State University, Arcata, California
2000
New paintings
LoLa boutique
Arcata, California
Juried Student Exhibition
Reese Bullen Gallery
Humboldt State University, Arcata, California
Faculty jury
1999
Unknown explosions
Foyer Gallery
Humboldt State University, Arcata, California
Juried Student Exhibition
Reese Bullen Gallery
Humboldt State University, Arcata, California
Faculty jury
1998
Juried Student Exhibition
Reese Bullen Gallery
Humboldt State University, Arcata, California
Faculty jury
Selected awards
MacDowell Colony Fellowship. 2009.
West Prize Acquisition Finalist. West Collection. 2008.
Van Duzer Scholarship for the Arts. 2000.
Van Duzer Scholarship for the Arts. 1999.
Education
Fine art, Humboldt State University. Arcata, California. 1997-2000.
Selected publications and press
Radius: Emerging Artists from Connecticut and Southeastern New York exhibition catalog. Catalog essay by Richard Klein. Ridgefield, Connecticut. 2010.
Olaussen, Hege. "Snøkuler som samtidskunst." Kunst og Kultur. Universitetsforlage in cooperation with The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo, Norway. Number 4, 2009.
New York Times Book Review. Cover illustration. New York, New York. November 8, 2009.
New York Times Magazine. Cover illustration. New York, New York. June 14, 2009.
Ten exhibition catalog. Catalog essay by Christian Viveros. Artist dialogue with Peter Garfield. The West Collection, Oaks, Pennsylvania. 2009.
Spoor, Nathan. "Thomas Doyle–The Fundamentals of Being Human." Hi-Fructose Magazine, Albany, California. Vol. XI, Spring 2009.
New York, New York, New York exhibition catalog. Catalog essay by Melanie Franklin Cohn. Flux Factory, Long Island City, New York. 2008.
Strauss, R.B. "Some First Friday Jewels for July." University City Review, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. July 4, 2007.
Rubin, Brian. "'Go North' Young Art-Lovers." Ellenville Journal, Ellenville, New York. July 5, 2007.