Denzil Hurley: To be pained is to have lived through feeling

{{I:To be pained is to have lived through feelings Denzil Hurley}}'s third exhibition at Canada. Curated by Gervais Marsh, Ph.D, this show brings together work the artist created over the last three decades, including some pieces that have never been exhibited previously. The exhibition’s title comes from the Hurley’s personal writings, and is complemented by another of his thoughts,

<p data-block-key="opmbi">“Pleasure is the conduit that allows a person to endure in the world.”</p>

Together, these musings embrace the breadth and complexity of feeling that emanates through Hurley’s work. In his paintings, the meditation on form is imbued with an intimacy that considers nuances of color, configurations of space, and the structure of the canvas. Paint is both layered and peeled back in generative, open-ended conversations not dictated by time.

Along with the exhibition, Canada has published a monograph that highlights Hurley’s work throughout his career, along with three essays engaging the depth of the artist’s practice. The exhibition will also be complemented by a symposium, activating Hurley’s work through critical discussion and performance. Scholar Kevin Quashie theorizes quiet in relation to Black life as a

<p data-block-key="opmbi">“metaphor for the full range of one’s inner life—one’s desires, ambitions, hungers, vulnerabilities, fears.… It is hard to see, even harder to describe, but no less potent in its ineffability.”</p>

Quashie’s words are an apt characterization of Denzil Hurley’s artwork. In both the exhibition To be pained is to have lived through feeling, and in his larger practice, he prioritized the realm of the interior, which led to a rigorous career of deeply moving and contemplative work.

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