Overview

For almost two decades, Hancock’s elaborate works have interlaced personal memoir with the history of painting and pop-cultural imagery. Raised in a Southern Baptist household, the artist spent his childhood immersed in biblical subjects whose power can now be seen in his ongoing exploration of universal themes of good and evil. As Hancock states, “Archetypes of heroes going through toil and trouble and coming out all the better for it,” have been central to the way he constructs his visual narratives.

 

Oscillating between figuration and abstraction, Hancock assembles compositions in a variety of media. The artist transforms formal decisions—the use of color, language, and pattern—into opportunities to build motifs, challenge narrative structures, and overturn traditional symbolic meaning.

 

Infused with both personal and cultural mythologies, Hancock’s dense and subversive storylines employ tropes, ranging from comic-strip superhero battles to medieval morality, often introducing text as a key visual component that further complicates the narrative.

 


 

Trenton Doyle Hancock (b. 1974, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) grew up in Paris, Texas. Hancock was featured in the 2000 and 2002 Whitney Biennial exhibitions, becoming one of the youngest artists in history to participate in this prestigious survey. In 2014, his exhibition Skin & Bones: 20 Years of Drawing was presented at the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston, and traveled to Akron Art Museum; the Studio Museum in Harlem; and Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art. His work has been the subject of one-person exhibitions at The Ringling Museum of Art; The University of South Florida Contemporary Art Museum; The Savannah College of Art and Design; The Weatherspoon Museum; The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth; The Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami; Institute for Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania; Olympic Sculpture Park at the Seattle Art Museum; Fruitmarket Gallery; and Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen.

 

Hancock’s world has been translated into performance in the original ballet Cult of Color: Call to Color, commissioned by Ballet Austin; and through site-specific murals for the Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Dallas and at the Seattle Art Museum’s Olympic Sculpture Park. In 2019, the artist presented his most comprehensive exhibition to date, Mind of the Mound: Critical Mass, at MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA.

 

The artist’s work is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Whitney Museum of American Art; Los Angeles Contemporary Museum of Art; The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Brooklyn Museum; The Studio Museum in Harlem; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Baltimore Museum of Art; Columbus Museum of Art; The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu; The Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum; Dallas Museum of Art; High Museum of Art; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth; Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art; The Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Trento, Italy; Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts; Warhol Museum; and Wexner Center for the Arts at Ohio State University.

 

 Hancock’s work is currently on view in Draw Them in, Paint Them Out: Trenton Doyle Hancock Confronts Philip Guston, a two-person exhibition with Philip Guston at the Jewish Museum in New York. 

Works
  • Trenton Doyle Hancock, The Skint Alterpiece Vegans Make Deposits at the Tofu Bank, 2020
    Trenton Doyle Hancock
    The Skint Alterpiece Vegans Make Deposits at the Tofu Bank, 2020
    Acrylic, ink, and collaged paper on canvas
    72 x 108 in
    182.9 x 274.3 cm
  • Trenton Doyle Hancock, Step and Screw Seven Foot Furry Face Off, 2022
    Trenton Doyle Hancock
    Step and Screw Seven Foot Furry Face Off, 2022
    Acrylic, fake fur collage on canvas
    84 x 84 in
    213.4 x 213.4 cm
  • Trenton Doyle Hancock, Trenton Doyle Hancock Presents The Moundverse: Chapter 2 Veganism, 2020
    Trenton Doyle Hancock
    Trenton Doyle Hancock Presents The Moundverse: Chapter 2 Veganism, 2020
    Ink on paper
    Suite of 19 framed drawings
    Each page: 24 x 36 in / 61 x 91.4 cm
  • Trenton Doyle Hancock, Metes and Bounds, 2022
    Trenton Doyle Hancock
    Metes and Bounds, 2022
    Acrylic, graphite, paper and canvas collage, plastic bottle caps on canvas
    36 x 25 1/4 x 3 in
    91.4 x 64.1 x 7.6 cm
  • Trenton Doyle Hancock, Let’s Try the Yellow Triangle Angle or The Return of Piss Christ, 2022
    Trenton Doyle Hancock
    Let’s Try the Yellow Triangle Angle or The Return of Piss Christ, 2022
    Acrylic, graphite, paper and canvas collage, plastic bottle caps on canvas
    48 x 48 in
    121.9 x 121.9 cm
  • Trenton Doyle Hancock, It Takes Three or Four to Even the Score, 2022
    Trenton Doyle Hancock
    It Takes Three or Four to Even the Score, 2022
    Acrylic, graphite, ink, paper and canvas collage, plastic bottle caps on canvas
    60 x 48 in
    152.4 x 121.9 cm
  • Trenton Doyle Hancock, Torpedo Boy and the Little Light, 2022
    Trenton Doyle Hancock
    Torpedo Boy and the Little Light, 2022
    Acrylic, graphite, paper collage, and ink on canvas
    30 x 20 in
    76.2 x 50.8 cm
  • Trenton Doyle Hancock, They Gave Me Two Feet, and I Gave Em’ a Foot, 2022
    Trenton Doyle Hancock
    They Gave Me Two Feet, and I Gave Em’ a Foot, 2022
    Acrylic on canvas
    24 x 24 in
    61 x 61 cm
  • Trenton Doyle Hancock, Me You Were, 2022
    Trenton Doyle Hancock
    Me You Were, 2022
    Acrylic, ink, graphite, paper, canvas and bottle caps on canvas
    30 x 20 in
    76.2 x 50.8 cm
  • Trenton Doyle Hancock, Beep, Beep, Beep, This Just In, 2022
    Trenton Doyle Hancock
    Beep, Beep, Beep, This Just In, 2022
    Acrylic, graphite, paper collage, plastic bottle caps, silkscreen on canvas
    31 1/4 x 30 in
    78.7 x 76.2 cm
  • Trenton Doyle Hancock, Good Grief, Bad Grief, 2022
    Trenton Doyle Hancock
    Good Grief, Bad Grief, 2022
    Acrylic on canvas
    12 x 9 in
    30.5 x 22.9 cm
  • Trenton Doyle Hancock, The Pinfold, 2022
    Trenton Doyle Hancock
    The Pinfold, 2022
    Acrylic, graphite, paper and canvas collage, plastic bottle caps and ink on canvas
    30 x 30 in
    76.2 x 76.2 cm
  • Trenton Doyle Hancock, Vegan Suburb of Bonehead, 2022
    Trenton Doyle Hancock
    Vegan Suburb of Bonehead, 2022
    Acrylic, graphite, ink, paper and canvas collage on canvas
    30 x 40 in
    76.2 x 101.6 cm
  • Trenton Doyle Hancock, Vegan City of Gumit, 2022
    Trenton Doyle Hancock
    Vegan City of Gumit, 2022
    Acrylic, graphite, ink, paper and canvas collage on canvas
    54 x 72 in
    137.2 x 182.9 cm
  • Trenton Doyle Hancock, Vegan Suburb of Daadd, 2022
    Trenton Doyle Hancock
    Vegan Suburb of Daadd, 2022
    Acrylic, graphite, ink, paper and canvas collage on canvas
    30 x 40 in
    76.2 x 101.6 cm
  • Trenton Doyle Hancock, Mold, 2010
    Trenton Doyle Hancock
    Mold, 2010
    Acrylic and mixed media on canvas
    60 x 60 inches
  • Trenton Doyle Hancock, Becoming the Toymaker, Phase 2 of 41: All is Forgravened, 2018
    Trenton Doyle Hancock
    Becoming the Toymaker, Phase 2 of 41: All is Forgravened, 2018
    Acrylic and mixed media on canvas
    18 x 18 inches
  • Trenton Doyle Hancock, TorpedoBoy Steps and Screws Wearing some Cutty Black Shoes, 2018
    Trenton Doyle Hancock
    TorpedoBoy Steps and Screws Wearing some Cutty Black Shoes, 2018
    Acrylic and mixed media on canvas
    60 x 60 x 5 inches
  • Trenton Doyle Hancock, The Sound of Ocello Opo as the Sun Rises in Her Hands, 2018
    Trenton Doyle Hancock
    The Sound of Ocello Opo as the Sun Rises in Her Hands, 2018
    Acrylic and mixed media on canvas
    84 x 84 x 6 inches
  • Trenton Doyle Hancock, SKUM: Just Beneath the Skin, 2018
    Trenton Doyle Hancock
    SKUM: Just Beneath the Skin, 2018
    Acrylic, graphite, plastic tops, and paper collage on canvas
    60 x 60 x 4 inches
  • Trenton Doyle Hancock, The Former and the Ladder, Ascension and a Cinchin'', 2012
    Trenton Doyle Hancock
    The Former and the Ladder, Ascension and a Cinchin'', 2012
    Acrylic and collaged canvas
    84 x 132 inches
  • Trenton Doyle Hancock, The Legend Generates a Spit Storm Just for You, 2018
    Trenton Doyle Hancock
    The Legend Generates a Spit Storm Just for You, 2018
    Acrylic, graphite, fake fur, plastic tops, and paper collage on canvas
    60 x 60 x 4 inches
  • Trenton Doyle Hancock, Step and Screw Part Too Soon Underneath the Bloody Red Moon, 2018
    Trenton Doyle Hancock
    Step and Screw Part Too Soon Underneath the Bloody Red Moon, 2018
    Acrylic and mixed media on canvas
    90 x 132 x 6 inches
  • Trenton Doyle Hancock, Becoming the Toymaker, Phase 16 of 41: Aging Boy, 2018
    Trenton Doyle Hancock
    Becoming the Toymaker, Phase 16 of 41: Aging Boy, 2018
    Acrylic and mixed media on canvas
    24 x 30 x 4 inches
  • Trenton Doyle Hancock, The She Wolf Amongst Them Fed Undom's Conundrum, 2016
    Trenton Doyle Hancock
    The She Wolf Amongst Them Fed Undom's Conundrum, 2016
    Acrylic and mixed media on canvas
    72 x 108 x 4.5 inches
  • Trenton Doyle Hancock, Undom Endgle and the Souls’ Journey (Sculpture), 2018
    Trenton Doyle Hancock
    Undom Endgle and the Souls’ Journey (Sculpture), 2018
    Styrofoam, epoxy, steel, automotive paint, silicone, wood base
    82.5 x 70 x 31.5 inches
  • Trenton Doyle Hancock, Trenton Doyle Hancock Presents The Moundverse, Chapter 1: What is a Mound? Page 24 & 25, 2018
    Trenton Doyle Hancock
    Trenton Doyle Hancock Presents The Moundverse, Chapter 1: What is a Mound? Page 24 & 25, 2018
    Ink on paper
    24 x 36 inches
  • Trenton Doyle Hancock, Coloration Coronation, 2016
    Trenton Doyle Hancock
    Coloration Coronation, 2016
    Acrylic and mixed media on canvas
    90 x 132 inches
  • Trenton Doyle Hancock, Quinton Trenton, 2016
    Trenton Doyle Hancock
    Quinton Trenton, 2016
    Acrylic and mixed media on canvas
    18 x 14 x .5 inches
  • Trenton Doyle Hancock, Letting, 2015
    Trenton Doyle Hancock
    Letting, 2015
    Acrylic on canvas
    9 x 12 inches
  • Trenton Doyle Hancock, Split Per Tonality, 2016
    Trenton Doyle Hancock
    Split Per Tonality, 2016
    Acrylic and mixed media on canvas
    72 x 108 inches
  • Trenton Doyle Hancock, Finally!, 2016
    Trenton Doyle Hancock
    Finally!, 2016
    Mixed media on canvas
    48 x 37.5 x 1.5 inches
  • Trenton Doyle Hancock, Choir, 2003
    Trenton Doyle Hancock
    Choir, 2003
    Mixed media on canvas
    96 x 132 inches
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