The Repatriation of King Skellig Mör: Solo exhibition by Duke Riley
Past exhibition
Overview
Leave it to artist Duke Riley to weave together a narrative involving an Irish goat, a talking seal, battleships, Boston history, and lots of plastic trash. These are the elements of discovery in his upcoming solo exhibition at Praise Shadows titled The Repatriation of King Skellig Mör. Riley, a Boston native based in Brooklyn, will broaden the repertoire of work shown in his recent Brooklyn Museum solo exhibition Death to the Living: Long Live Trash. The presentation will include new iterations of his acclaimed scrimshaws, sailor’s valentines, and the debut of a new type of work inspired by Victorian-era ruby glass.
The exhibition’s namesake, Skellig Mör, was a real-life celebrity goat that was brought to Boston from Killorglin, in County Kerry, Ireland. The animal was the subject of headlines across The Boston Globe and The New York Times in the early 1900s. Riley, known for his layered visual chronicles of the entwined and often absurd interplays of institutional power and the natural world, became fascinated with the fate of Skellig Mör.
Installation Views
Dan Watkins Photography for Praise Shadows Art Gallery
Works
Press
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Have You Seen This Goat? Artist Duke Riley’s Hunt for a Long-Lost Animal Headlines His New Show
Min Chen, Artnet News, June 14, 2024 -
In ‘The Repatriation of King Skellig Mör,’ Duke Riley Explores the Bizarre Relationship Between Nature and Institutional Power
Jackie Andres, Colossal, May 31, 2024 -
A century before Tom Brady, the most famous Boston goat was ... an actual goat
Ava Berger, The Boston Globe, May 29, 2024
