Terry Allen

Terry Allen’s works often reflect his engagement with history, mythos, and imagined space. Over the course of his lengthy career, Allen has explored notions of memory and folklore in his multimedia works, which draw from diverse influences, including Abstract Expressionism, conceptual art, and country music. Allen’s three-part epic Dugout is an audio-visual investigation of the artist’s relationship with his parents and his personal history, staged through vivid tableaux that incorporate video projection, sculpture, theatrical props, sound, performance, and two-dimensional works. In Ghost Ship Rodez: The Momo Chronicles, Allen addresses the gruesome and anxiety-inducing saga of French artist, actor, and opiate-addict, Antonin Artaud. Nearly forty drawings round out the compendium of works, which also includes time-based media and large-scale sculpture. Allen’s work engages an interest in the cultural significance of nontraditional art objects, subjectivity, identity formation, and historical memory.

Allen’s work has been exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions since the late 1960s. His artwork was shown at the 1973 and 1977 Whitney Biennials, Documenta 8, and the New Museum’s inaugural exhibition alongside works by John Baldessari and Ed Ruscha. Allen is also a songwriter and has recorded eleven albums of original music.