Ancil Farrell

Emmanuel Barbault Gallery is pleased to announce The Pulse by Ancil Farrell. The Pulse is a solo exhibition of ceramic sculptures that celebrate the regenerative power of clay and the natural forces within the process of making. Arranged as a cyclical narrative unfolding in the intimate space of Emmanuel Barbault gallery, each sculpture is a unique textural and rhythmic vessel that navigates the swells of fear, resilience, and joy in life.

Farrell spent his formative years in Trinidad and Tobago, a volcanic island where the boundary between the ocean waves and the edge of the land are in constant negotiation. These geologic origins have made their impact on the trinity of water, earth, and fire that is present in Farrell’s practice. The artist references the elements through ceramic processes; stretching, tearing, and adding clay into forms that recall magma, waves, and coral reefs. Similar to coral colonies teeming with symbiotic relationships, Farrell harmonizes his subject, expressivity, and material. Mirroring the formation of volcanic land, Farrell’s sculptures embody a collision of natural forces resulting in the creation of active and sealed movements.

A pulse is evidence of life. It reminds us of our inseparable ties with everything living and our proximity to death. For Farrell, the act of making embodies the responsibility of facing the unknowns of self where great vulnerability shapes the autonomous power of his objects. With The Pulse, Farrell offers an intimate view into his cycles of fear and joy and an invitation for us to courageously search our own horizons.

- Nataša Prljević