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 Brooklyn, New York
Selected exhibitions
2008
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
Awards
Van Duzer Scholarship for the Arts. 2000.
Van Duzer Scholarship for the Arts. 1999.
Printmaker’s Award, Juried Student Exhibition, Reese Bullen Gallery. Humboldt State University, Arcata, California. Faculty jury.
Education
Art Department, Humboldt State University. Arcata, California. 1997-2000.
Publications and press
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.