Two Statue Torsos (Minotaur), 2022, oil on canvas, 48”x48”
May 18th – July 8th
Opening Reception: May 19th, 6 – 8 PM
Fragments explores storytelling through the human form in both ancient and modern iterations, revealing fascinating commonalities between the two. Artist John MacConnell sketches and paints Classical sculptures alongside contemporary individuals, linking mythmaking in the Greco-Roman world with our current society.
Using sculptures from the sanctuary at Delphi and the Acropolis in Athens as reference, MacConnell poses his models in the contrapposto forms of Hellenic statues. The figures are then fragmented, as ancient sculptures often are after thousands of years, missing an arm, leg, or even head, as if time and use had worn them away.
Through the framework of these contemporary bodies juxtaposed with ancient sculptures, MacConnell examines the narratives we create about ourselves and others. Much as the stories we know about heroes and statesmen from antiquity are built from bits of information, our online personas are an amalgamation of pieces – curated selections from various social media accounts and dating profiles. MacConnell asks how the people of today will be remembered – what myths about us will develop from our fragmented digital footprints?
Exhibition Views
Childs Gallery
168 Newbury Street
Boston, MA 02116
Gallery Hours
Tuesday – Friday: 9 AM – 6 PM
Saturday & Sunday: 11 AM – 5 PM
Monday: Closed