The Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles is presenting a remarkable exhibition titled "Draw Them In, Paint Them Out: Trenton Doyle Hancock Confronts Philip Guston," marking the first time these two influential artists have been showcased in dialogue. The exhibition brings together the work of Philip Guston, an American painter born in Canada in 1913 to Jewish immigrants from Odessa (present-day Ukraine) who died in 1980, and Trenton Doyle Hancock, a leading Black contemporary artist born in 1974 and based in Houston, Texas.
The exhibition explores the profound connections between both artists' work and examines the crucial role that artists play in pursuing social justice. "Draw Them In, Paint Them Out" highlights how both Guston and Hancock engage in parallel thematic explorations of complex subjects including the nature of evil, self-representation, otherness, and art activism. The show features key works by Guston, including his now-iconic satirical Ku Klux Klan paintings, displayed alongside major works that Hancock created in response to his inspirational mentor.
By foregrounding artwork that depicts the Klan, the exhibition aims to demonstrate how both artists engage with and sometimes even inhabit these hateful figures as a means to explore their own identities. Through this challenging approach, they examine broader systems of institutionalized power and their own feelings of complicity within these structures. The curatorial approach reveals how both artists use controversial imagery to confront uncomfortable truths about American society and their place within it.
Despite the difficult subject matter and often violent imagery presented in their work, both Hancock and Guston demonstrate a remarkable ability to conquer the pain and emotion embedded in their art through humor that is both dark and undeniable. This shared approach is further strengthened by their mutual embrace of the visual language of comics, which allows them to address serious social issues while maintaining accessibility and emotional resonance with viewers.
The exhibition was originally organized by the Jewish Museum in New York and is curated by Rebecca Shaykin, the Barnett and Annalee Newman Curator of Contemporary Art, working in partnership with Trenton Doyle Hancock himself. At the Skirball Cultural Center, the presentation is being coordinated by Vicki Phung Smith, who serves as the institution's Curator.
"Draw Them In, Paint Them Out" will remain on view at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, California, through March 1, 2026, giving visitors an extended opportunity to engage with this thought-provoking dialogue between two generations of American artists. Those interested in learning more about the exhibition can visit skirball.org for additional information and programming details.
