Alexander Gray Associates
Skip to main content
  • Menu
  • Artists
  • Exhibitions
  • Art Fairs
  • News / Events
  • Press
  • Publications
  • Gallery
Menu

there is no one left to blame: Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston,

July 31 - October 27, 2013
  • Current
  • Upcoming
  • Past

there is no one left to blame: Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston

Past exhibition
July 31 - October 27, 2013
  • Overview
  • Installations
  • Related Artists
Overview
Installation view: there is no one left to blame, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA, 2013. Photo: © Charles Mayer Photography

Installation view: there is no one left to blame, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA, 2013. Photo: © Charles Mayer Photography

Steve Locke's one-person exhibition there is no one left to blame, curated by Helen Molesworth, at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA (2013); traveled to Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, MI (2014).

The institution's press release follows:

For several years Boston-based artist Steve Locke has been making images of male heads with their tongues sticking out—a curious expression that suggests disgust or dislike as much as it does teasing or flirting. Lushly painted in a wide-ranging palette, they are alternately disturbing, comical, vulnerable, and sensual. Locke’s works challenge the historical tendency in portraiture to depict men as authoritative and powerful by suggesting a more ambivalent array of ideas and emotions regarding masculinity. His first solo museum exhibition, there is no one left to blame features twelve all-new works—including a “constellation” of paintings, paintings affixed to sculptural supports, and a neon work bearing the show’s title.

The male faces in Locke’s portraits float disembodied within the canvas, evoking a range of references—from the myth of Medusa to historical traumas such as the French Revolution or the lynching of African-Americans to current anxieties about terrorism, war, and torture. In addition to this layered and nuanced field of associations, Locke is also experimenting with a variety of display strategies for paintings. Whether embedding them in the wall of the museum, or propping them onto sculptural supports, Locke’s treatment of oil paintings—traditionally simply hung on the wall—is commensurate with his complication of our conventional images of men. In both instances, Locke’s work pushes boundaries and suggests subtle hopes for new ideas and expanded freedoms.

Steve Locke is an Associate Professor at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. His work has been exhibited in several solo and group shows, and he has served as Artist-in-Residence at Savannah College of Art and Design and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Locke has received numerous awards including the LEF Foundation Contemporary Work Fund Grant and the Art Matters Foundation Award. He lives and works in Boston.

Installations
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Stevelocke 20130826 5796
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Stevelocke 20130826 5871
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Stevelocke 20130826 5769
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Stevelocke 20130826 5611
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Stevelocke 20130826 5634
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Stevelocke 20130826 5754
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Stevelocke 20130826 5718
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Stevelocke 20130826 5660
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Stevelocke 20130826 5692
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Stevelocke 20130826 5666
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Stevelocke 20130826 5628

Installation view: there is no one left to blame, Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA, 2013. Photo: © Charles Mayer Photography

Related artist

  • Steve Locke

    Steve Locke

Back to Past exhibitions

Alexander Gray Associates

384 Broadway
New York NY 10013
United States


Tuesday – Saturday
10:30 AM – 6:00 PM
Telephone +1 212 399 2636

Inquires

Sales
sales@alexandergray.com

Press
press@alexandergray.com

General
info@alexandergray.com

Mailing List

Subscribe to email list for announcements
info@alexandergray.com

Privacy Policy
Accessibility Policy
Cookie Policy
Manage cookies
Copyright © 2025
Instagram, opens in a new tab.

This website uses cookies
This site uses cookies to help make it more useful to you. Please contact us to find out more about our Cookie Policy.

Manage cookies
Accept

Cookie preferences

Check the boxes for the cookie categories you allow our site to use

Cookie options
Required for the website to function and cannot be disabled.
Improve your experience on the website by storing choices you make about how it should function.
Allow us to collect anonymous usage data in order to improve the experience on our website.
Allow us to identify our visitors so that we can offer personalised, targeted marketing.
Save preferences