Artist Hew Locke brings together sculpture, drawing and maritime symbolism in The Wanderers, an exhibition at P·P·O·W in New York. The presentation revisits his ongoing Odyssey series, where vessels become poetic markers of movement, memory and cultural exchange.
Suspended throughout the gallery, a fleet of miniature boats spans fishing vessels, tankers and historic galleons. Locke transforms each form with vivid paint, pennants, foliage and weathered-looking surfaces. Gathered in one shared route, the ships suggest an open-ended journey shaped by centuries of travel, trade, migration and shifting global connections.
Power, memory and material language
The exhibition also includes works from Locke's Souvenirs series. Built on antique Parian ware, these richly layered busts reinterpret historic figures including Queen Victoria and George Washington. Decorative details, ornate accessories and unexpected materials turn familiar symbols of authority into complex reflections on how history is preserved, retold and experienced.
New watercolor-and-pencil works from the Spirit House series expand this dialogue through architectural forms and imagined spaces. Across the exhibition, Locke connects personal geography with wider histories, creating works that move between Guyana, Britain and the broader world.
The Wanderers remains on view in New York through October 24. Locke's approach shows how contemporary art can make historical narratives more accessible, encouraging future audiences to view global exchange through richer and more interconnected perspectives.
