On View
See the Twisted and Delightful World of Artist Trenton Doyle Hancock in His New Exhibition at MASS MoCA
The artist's latest show is an absolute feast for the eyes.
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“Trenton Doyle Hancock: Mind of the Mound, Critical Mass”
MASS MoCA, on view through October 2019
What the Museum Says: “Hancock will bring his richly detailed belief system, what he calls the ‘Mind of the Mound,’ to MASS MoCA, fully integrating narrative, installation, and performance in his largest solo project to date—achieving ‘critical mass’ of his vision. For Hancock, the Mound is more than just a character; it is a way of life. ‘Mounds are not only natural depositories for memories and other bits of discarded humanity, but they are a way for us to build a collective psycho-emotional hierarchy, as well as a way to describe an individual’s intuitive profile,’ notes Hancock. In his work, the Mound is a site where the accumulation and classification of artworks exist alongside his toy collecting, comic books, superheroes, Garbage Pail Kids, and childhood drawings.”
Why It’s Worth a Look: Hancock is the kind of artist who lives his work: he not only has the ridiculously detailed imagination to come up with an entire world of his own making, he has the technical chops to bring it to life. This is what people really want from museum “experiences”—not Instagram backgrounds, but transformative, brain-rocking visual delights that will stay with them long after they leave.
What It Looks Like:
Installation view of “Trenton Doyle Hancock: Mind of the Mound, Critical Mass” at MASS MoCA. Photo: Tony Luong.
Installation view of “Trenton Doyle Hancock: Mind of the Mound, Critical Mass” at MASS MoCA. Photo: Tony Luong.
Installation view of “Trenton Doyle Hancock: Mind of the Mound, Critical Mass” at MASS MoCA. Photo: Tony Luong.
Installation view of “Trenton Doyle Hancock: Mind of the Mound, Critical Mass” at MASS MoCA. Photo: Tony Luong.
Installation view of “Trenton Doyle Hancock: Mind of the Mound, Critical Mass” at MASS MoCA. Photo: Tony Luong.
Installation view of “Trenton Doyle Hancock: Mind of the Mound, Critical Mass” at MASS MoCA. Photo: Tony Luong.
Trenton Doyle Hancock, The Color Crop Experience (2018) (still). Courtesy of the artist and Hales Gallery, London.
Trenton Doyle Hancock, The She Wolf Amongst Them Fed Undom &Conundrum
(2016). Courtesy of the artist and James Cohan, New York.
Installation view of “Trenton Doyle Hancock: Mind of the Mound, Critical Mass” at MASS MoCA. Photo: Tony Luong.
Installation view of “Trenton Doyle Hancock: Mind of the Mound, Critical Mass” at MASS MoCA. Photo: Tony Luong.
Panels from an upcoming graphic novel by Trenton Doyle Hancock. Courtesy of MASS MoCA.
Installation view of “Trenton Doyle Hancock: Mind of the Mound, Critical Mass” at MASS MoCA. Photo: Tony Luong.
Trenton Doyle Hancock, Plate of Shrimp ( 2012). Courtesy of the artist and James Cohan, New York.
Installation view of “Trenton Doyle Hancock: Mind of the Mound, Critical Mass” at MASS MoCA. Photo: Tony Luong.
Installation view of “Trenton Doyle Hancock: Mind of the Mound, Critical Mass” at MASS MoCA. Photo: Tony Luong.
Installation view of “Trenton Doyle Hancock: Mind of the Mound, Critical Mass” at MASS MoCA. Photo: Tony Luong.
Trenton Doyle Hancock, Skum Surprise and The Underworld (2019). Courtesy of the artist and MASS MoCA.
