Inverted Dreams and Technicolor Nightmares

Andy King + Dooby Tomkins

September 16 - October 14, 2023

Opening Reception: Saturday, September 16 from 6 - 9pm

Modfellows excitedly welcomes the return of two talented Nashville-based artists, Andy King and Dooby Tomkins, for their show, “Inverted Dreams and Technicolor Nightmares.” This will be the first time the two artists will be exhibiting their respective works together, despite knowing each other since early childhood.

Andy is fascinated with the interplay between chance, perceptions, the influence of others, and mystical experiences in the role of the evolution of personhood. This series of works from Andy deal with the simultaneous separation and interconnection of inward and outward realities; the reality of the inner self and the external reality of the world. The work blends personal perceptions of both realities in a manner that connects them through a cosmic structure that bridges the void between them.

Andy’s mark-making is meant not only to represent but also to embody the ideas of adaptation and change. The marks flow and morph into one another, merging to create and recreate the figures. The marks come from a place of intuition that creates an ever-changing dialogue between the artist and the artwork. The concepts and intentions underlying the artwork are thus allowed change and evolve through this conversation.

William R. “Dooby" Tomkins Jr. creates complex, hand-cut layered paper pieces. His pieces explore vibrant colors, pop-culture iconography, and layered paper. His intricate, hand cut pieces create a discourse between flat paper and the space it inhabits when layered. “Cowboy,” a 30” x 30” standout piece in the show, perfectly demonstrates such a discourse, with its bright, multi-colored depiction of a vintage cowboy extending out from a flat swirling black and white background.

Dooby’s work concerns the “spectacle,” an entity made up of the conglomeration of advertising and corporate marketing that was first identified and named in 1967 by the French philosopher Guy Debord. Dooby earned a BFA with concentrations in painting and drawing from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

We invite you to explore these works at the show’s opening reception from 6 – 9 pm on Saturday, September 16th.