Brooklyn-based artist Nick Doyle creates large-scale wall sculptures using layered and bleached denim, exploring American mythology and its contradictions. His solo exhibition "Collective Hallucinations" at Perrotin features works such as stylized cacti, landscapes, tarot cards, and a fortune teller's shop, all rendered in denim. Doyle's practice began after finding a discarded roll of denim in 2018, which he saw as a metaphor for the complexities of American history, including slavery, masculinity, and Manifest Destiny.
The exhibition matters because it uses denim—a fabric deeply tied to American identity—to critique national myths of exceptionalism and individualism at a time of political and cultural upheaval. Doyle's work reflects a broader artistic trend of reexamining foundational narratives through everyday materials, making visible the tensions between nostalgia and contemporary reality. The show runs through May 30 at Perrotin in New York.