WAP: Craig Drennen

Since 2008 Drennen has produced artworks inspired by the list of characters from Shakespeare’s worst play, Timon of Athens. Bandit is Drennen’s first solo museum exhibition and features new paintings, sculptures, and videos prompted by the character of Bandit. The Bandit works feature imagery borrowed from the traditions of Santa Claus, money, and the modernist grid. 

“Since 2008 I have organized my studio practice around Shakespeare’s Timon of Athens. It is considered Shakespeare’s most problematic work and is the only one of his plays not performed in his lifetime. I chose a “failed” work because the play’s obscurity creates unpoliced cultural bandwidth that I can occupy without incident. For each character in the play I produce a distinct body of work based on contemporary associations, resulting in a collection of related pieces composed of separately considered parts.

Timon of Athens is a corrupted text of indeterminate history, questionable sources, and a dubious relationship to the respected canon. That is to say, it mirrors my own position in the art world perfectly. The asymmetry between Shakespeare’s reputation and my own will likely remain intact. But there will come a time when Timon of Athens will be known as mine instead of his.” -Craig Drennen

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website