With piercing, wild eyes, and sharp pointed teeth, David Hare’s Cronus series is the embodiment of a savage beast. Yet buried under the legends of cannibalism and filicide that surround the popular myth of Cronus, Hare injects his own exploration of the human condition. In taking perhaps the farthest figure from human and infusing it with familiar feelings of loneliness, gender dysmorphia, and a desire for oneness, Hare redefines and complicates the “monster” as we know it.
Born in New York City, Hare was already in what would be the heart of the American Surrealist movement. In his early photography and sculptures, Hare enthusiastically embraced mythology and automatism which made him the perfect addition to the growing group of émigré Surrealist artists in New York. From 1942 to 1944, Hare co-edited the VVV Surrealist Magazine alongside André Breton, Max Ernst, and Marcel Duchamp.
Hare’s fixation on the myth of Cronus began in the late 1960’s and went on to inspire over 250 of his works. He gravitated towards myth for its engagement with primal forces that, like sexuality, combatted alienation. In an interview with Mimi Poser in 1972, Hare declared that his images of Cronus are portraits of the human will. Like Cronus, humans continually destroy what they love. In an act meant to merge the child and the father, Cronus consumes his children but finds himself just as alone as before. Cronus’ form fluctuates from painting to painting, as do his genitalia, his cave, and his emotions. Hare engages with the ongoing conversation of gender fluidity and the isolation so many are faced with while reaching for connection. Cronus’ children found a comically grotesque union in his stomach and in a similar way, viewers of the Cronus series are united by the familiar myths and feelings that have endured generations.
Lincoln Glenn’s exhibition will run June 15 – July 27 at 542 West 24th Street and the gallery space will be open to visitors from 10am-6pm on Tuesdays-Saturdays. An opening reception will be held on Thursday, June 15th from 5-7pm. The exhibition is accompanied by a complimentary catalogue with an essay by Mona Hadler.
