Brent Wahl
Think Much, Cry Much
February 2018

In Brent Wahl’s much-anticipated new body of work, brightly hued constructions, photographic prints and objects intermingle, disrupting the picture plane with wit and restraint. His new body of work questions perceptions of reality, and seeks to objectively examine consciousness.

As Wahl explains: “Playing with the notion that a photograph is a representation of something visible (like a mirror reflecting the body) - this work dwells on the senses, doubt, and speculation as it swerves in and out representation, illusion, and the real. Fabricating and then photographing three-dimensional constructions that move through contextual and spatial shifts, this work reflects aspects of the individual ego and poses questions about existence as it appears to contemporary society.”

The title of the show, Think Much, Cry Much, references a conversation between Ali and his lover in the acclaimed Fasbinder film, Ali: Fear Eats the Soul. The film deals with unconventional love in the face of prejudice, while at the same time raises questions about confronting one’s own identity.

Think Much, Cry Much playfully and contemplatively asks the viewer to consider their relationship to existence, not just to the self. We invite you to experience this thought provoking exhibition first-hand.          

Artist Bio

Brent Wahl is a multi-media artist working primarily with photography, installation, and time-based media.Through the use of ephemeral materials, he fabricates three-dimensional structures in which the varying subject matter moves through contextual, optical, and spatial shifts. Brent was born in Wisconsin and grew up in Columbia, SC. Moving to New York in 1990, he resided there until 2004, when he moved his studio to Philadelphia. Brent was the recipient of a 2014 Pew Center for Arts & Heritage Individual Artist Grant, and he was a 2012 Community Supported Artist. He has exhibited widely in the US and abroad. Brent also teaches courses in the photography department as well as 2D and 3D courses in the School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania.