THOMAS DOYLE: STATEMENT / RESUMEHome

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

occupant@thomasdoyle.net

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.


Images © 2010 Thomas Doyle