Anthony Cudahy: Fool’s gold
Fool's errand
GRIMM, 54 White St, New York, NY 10013
Hales and GRIMM are pleased to present Fool's gold and Fool's errand, parallel solo exhibitions of new work by American artist Anthony Cudahy, on view at both New York galleries from 6 September to 19 October 2024.
Fool's gold marks the artist's third solo show with Hales, and follows his 2023 exhibition Double Spar, at the London gallery. Fool's gold and Fool's errand also follow on the heels of Cudahy's first institutional solo exhibition in the United States, Spinneret, on view at the Ogunquit Museum of American Art, ME (US) through 21 July 2024 and traveling onwards to the Green Family Art Foundation in Dallas, TX (US) later this year.
Throughout his body of work, the artist explores themes of queer identity and intimacy, sourcing his imagery from photo archives, art history, film stills, hagiographic icons, and personal photographs. His paintings and drawings are crafted from various iterations of these vignettes, paying close attention to both color and composition, alongside an enduring commitment to his chosen mediums. His evocative figurative works elicit feelings of sensuality, safety, loneliness, and longing through an amalgamation of the artist's own autobiographical narratives, crafted mythologies, and extensive historical research.
Cudahy depicts his subjects engaged in mundane activities; gazing out a window, lounging on a sofa with a loved one, picking flowers, or simply 'taking a piss'. Faces and gestures are defined by bold hues that draw the eye to sensory details that are so often overlooked. For Cudahy, this close attention to color and texture are ways to push the narrative and emotive quality of each work. A bookshelf or a bouquet of flowers, become sites of play; offering up opportunities to explore different modes and histories of painting in a single object. By collating these everyday moments that transgress time, he showcases the exceptionality of the quotidian.
The titles selected for each show correspond to two well-known idioms, with Cudahy interpreting the role of 'the fool' as somewhat alike to being an artist. A 'fool's errand' describes the assignment of an impossible task to someone oblivious to the fact that their efforts will be fruitless. This is comparable to the self-assigned task of the painter and nods to the act of painting as an open ended task with no definitive conclusion. 'The fool' can thus be a character who engages outside of normative parameters and approaches life from a different angle, with different aims. Similarly, 'fool's gold,' rather than its understanding to be cheap trickery or mimicry, could be celebrated and exalted. Like 'the fool,' an artist can harness their craft to define meaning in an uninhibited manner.
Both exhibitions present paintings and works on paper, with Cudahy dispersing pattern like repetitions of figures, places, and details between them. Historical references from Modern British Art or the Italian and Dutch Renaissance, are deftly woven with recognizable spaces and characters from his everyday life. While works subtly responds to each other as a group, as familiar faces hover between unearthly landscapes or domestic settings, each piece successfully resonates on its own. Cudahy's compositions range from fractured to full, rendering his scenes such that viewers feel close to the threshold. As a result, his spaces feel both protected and tangible.
Hales represents the artist in collaboration with GRIMM and Semiose. Forthcoming museum shows include: Like Night Needs Morning, CAP Centre d'art de Saint-Fons (FR) on view from 17 September through 23 November 2024. Spinneret will also travel to the Green Family Art Foundation, TX (US), opening in October 2024.
