In these luminous new paintings and drawings from Duncan Robert Anderson, the constellations aren’t there to reassure us of the nobility of our origins, they’re gathering in the night sky to watch us burn. Contrary to our mythologies, we didn’t name them; they were already fully formed, in ancient shapes we are able only vaguely to recognize, or, more likely, misrecognize. Were we freed of our incredible self-regard, maybe we’d recognize instead that true nobility comes from the sense of purpose we feel in our efforts not to dominate the universe but communicate with it.

Douglas Reichert Powell
Columbia College Chicago