First Acts, a solo exhibition of Craig Drennen’s work, marks the artist’s return to Atlanta Contemporary. In 2010, Drennen began a three-year residency that coincided with the start of his now signature body of work based on Timon of Athens. Developing distinct bodies of work out of each character, Drennen has spent the past decade mining this long-form studio practice based on William Shakespeare’s most problematic play.

First Acts unites the early works first conceived at Atlanta Contemporary with new works that demonstrate the artist’s fastidious focus and long-term devotion to developing this unique form. Drennen’s Timon of Athens project includes painting, sculpture, installation, performance, and video, prompted by what it means to create art in the context of, and based on, the worst work by the (arguably) best and most influential Western playwright. The early characters allowed Drennen a platform to question the inherited canon while expanding his vocabulary within contemporary art. The exhibition features new combinations of characters exhibited together for the first time, demonstrating Drennen’s simultaneously historic and yet utterly contemporary take on the act of art-making.

Catalog and exhibition support generously sponsored by Lauren & Tim Schrager.