Trenton Doyle Hancock

James Cohan is pleased to present Something American, an exhibition of new work by Trenton Doyle Hancock, on view from September 17 to October 17 at 48 Walker Street and 291 Grand Street. The exhibition will span both of the gallery’s locations, with new paintings in Tribeca and a presentation of the second chapter of Hancock’s ongoing graphic novel in the Lower East Side. This is the artist’s seventh solo exhibition at James Cohan. Please click here to make an appointment. 

Please click here to visit the Viewing Room for this exhibition. 

At James Cohan’s Grand Street gallery, Trenton Doyle Hancock will present a new suite of ink-on-paper works that comprise the second chapter of the artist’s most visionary drawing project to date: Trenton Doyle Hancock Presents The Moundverse. Designed as a traditional graphic novel, the intricate black and white illustrations provide a narrative master class in the characters and mythologies that have ruled Hancock’s work for the past twenty-five years. 

The overarching narrative of his graphic novel places Hancock’s heroes and villains into a setting where he can speak about Americanism. Central to this chapter are Vegans, Policemen, and the artist’s own alter ego Torpedo Boy. The conflict between these characters becomes a vehicle for examining the extremism and idealism that often seem inherent to American identity and cultural expression, while looking closely at the ever-evolving, attendant structures of white supremacy. At the same time, the work becomes a way to talk back to the world at large and define the primary players and structures of Hancock’s singular Moundverse.