Hermes, Icarus and The Fates

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Throughout history, myths have shaped human perception, offering explanations for the inexplicable—natural forces, mysteries, the life cycle. As stories traveled across cultures and borders, they evolved, reflecting shifting identities and beliefs. Allyson Glenn’s exhibition, Hermes, Icarus, and The Fates, delves into these ancient narratives, inviting viewers to reconsider their relevance in contemporary life.

Through painting, drawing, printmaking, and animation, Glenn explores the intersection of mythology, time, and self-determinism. Her work examines how mythic archetypes influence both the imagined and lived worlds we construct. Inspired by personal experiences, research, and dreams, her pieces evoke the transformative power of myth, encouraging viewers to reflect on their own place within these timeless stories.

This exhibition features six paintings and one animation, each engaging with Greek mythology’s symbolic language. The Date with Hermes series, inspired by a recurring dream, visualizes Glenn’s meditation on mortality and transition, drawing on classical sculptures and ancient boundary markers. The Icarus and The Fates series reinterprets the tragic tale of Icarus, weaving in references to fate and choice through imagery of Clotho, Lachesis, and their symbolic threads. Cats Cradle, a hand-drawn digital animation, extends these themes, morphing string and geometric forms into shifting mythological symbols.

Through this body of work, Glenn invites audiences to explore myth as a lens for personal and collective transformation, prompting reflection on fate, agency, and the unseen forces that shape our lives.

ARTIST BIO
Allyson Glenn is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans painting, drawing, printmaking, and animation. Fascinated by the power of storytelling and the fluidity of myth across cultures, she investigates the ways in which ancient narratives continue to shape contemporary thought and perception. Her research has taken her across the globe, photographing antiquities, ruins, museum collections, and symbolic artifacts that inform her work.

Glenn’s recent exhibitions include Date with Hermes: Journeying Between Dreams and Reality, curated by Dr. Katerina Pizania at the Vorres Museum in Greece. Her work has been featured in international residencies, including the NARS Foundation in Brooklyn, where she developed key pieces in her Date with Hermes series. Shifting between figuration and abstraction, her practice seeks to capture sensations of time, transformation, and the subconscious within two-dimensional media.

Through evocative compositions and layered symbolism, Glenn’s work challenges audiences to reflect on their own narratives and the mythologies they inherit.