Lot 32

Pat McDermott’s latest body of work examines the assumption that our homes and machines are distinct from nature or that we behave as though they are. It contrasts the chaos of the organic with the machine-made, and reminds the viewer of this dichotomy. Look at places like Chernobyl to see nature metering out its rightful order, both frightening and beautiful all at once. Once we settle down, we want beauty—control—but our will conflicts with nature. We want control, but it is illusory. Art is the ultimate symptom of this desire to control. Art’s utility is that it shows us to ourselves.