{"id":946811,"date":"2026-05-08T20:20:24","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T20:20:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/946811\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T20:20:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T20:20:24","slug":"collaged-denim-sculptures-by-nick-doyle-unravel-american-mythology-colossal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/946811\/","title":{"rendered":"Collaged Denim Sculptures by Nick Doyle Unravel American Mythology \u2014 Colossal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Despite its name, the Canadian Tuxedo is a distinctly American look. The denim-on-denim getup dates back to the 1950s, when Bing Crosby sported a full Levi\u2019s ensemble<\/a> while in Vancouver, setting a sartorial trend that continues today.<\/p>\n

The national mythology woven into this utilitarian material is also the focus of Brooklyn-based Nick Doyle<\/a>, who layers denim atop denim into large wall sculptures. From a pair of aviators reflecting puffy clouds to a vast Rocky Mountain landscape framed by brick, the works evoke a sort of nostalgic road trip west, as if chasing a big break, and ultimately, realizing the American dream.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>\u201cFirst Come the Dreamers\u201d (2026), bleached and collaged denim on panel, 25 x 72 inches<\/p>\n

For Doyle, denim is a poignant, loaded metaphor for much of American culture and history. The material has roots in chattel slavery, when people enslaved in the South<\/a> were dyeing cotton with indigo. There\u2019s also its association with the brusque masculinity of James Dean and cowboy ruggedness, itself an extension of the gold rush and Manifest Destiny. The fabric, in many ways, is a stand-in for the contradictions, hypocrisies, and unreachable desires so bound up in American life.<\/p>\n

While researching the visual language of Americana in 2018, Doyle came upon a roll of denim discarded by a fashion designer moving out of his building. \u201cAt the time, I had no money, so I was making work out of material I\u00a0found\u00a0in the garbage or at my local hardware store,\u201d he shares. \u201cAs I was pulling [the roll] out of the trash, I noticed a network of ideas connecting in my brain\u2026\u00a0I felt the material reflected the historical complexities I was seeing in my research, as well as being reflected in my own familial history.\u201d<\/p>\n

This encounter was one of those providential moments that set off an enduring fascination. In his solo exhibition Collective Hallucinations, on view at Perrotin, Doyle presents the latest of his denim sculptures, including stylized cacti, landscapes cordoned off by chainlink fences, and more mystical objects like tarot cards and a life-sized fortune teller\u2019s shop. <\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>\u201cInnocent Industry\u201d (2026), bleached and collaged denim on panel, 72 x 64 inches<\/p>\n

The show contains myriad symbols of American exceptionalism and individualism, presented in the heritage fabric of the nation. Doyle shares:<\/p>\n

\n

Over the last few years, my conception of American mythology has only become more complex\u2026 I think in a lot of ways what we\u2019re experiencing now is a breakdown of these mythologies.\u00a0They are in direct conflict with the current political reality, yet they are summoned as if it is business as usual.\u00a0The world\u2019s image of America has changed, but our country\u2019s nostalgia for itself is making us late to the party.\u00a0There\u2019s\u00a0tragedy in vanity.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Collective Hallucinations presents these unrealized dreams and confrontations in varying shades of blue, rendering what appears to be individual moments as simply different washes of the same story. <\/p>\n

In addition to his practice, Doyle will soon open a kink bar called Human Resources and is working toward a fall exhibition of paper collages and prints at Pace. If you\u2019re in New York, Collective Hallucinations runs through May 30. Otherwise, find more on Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>\u201cHere We Go Round the Prickly Pear Bush\u201d (2026), bleached and collaged denim on panel, 48 x 26 inches<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>\u201cThe Clouds\u201d (2026), bleached denim on panel, 24 x 18 inches<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>\u201cPlastic Eden\u201d (2026), bleached and collaged denim on panel, 68 x 42 inches<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u201cBlack Market Bodies\u201d (2026), bleached and collaged denim on panel, 36 x 64 inches<\/p>\n

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