Tim Kent: Horse Power | Dubai

JD Malat Gallery Dubai is thrilled to present Horsepower, a solo exhibition by Brooklyn-based artist Tim Kent. In this new body of work, Kent examines the historical and cultural significance of the horse - a universal symbol of power that has shaped art, society, and human innovation for millennia.

 

From early cave paintings to the grand civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Rome, horses have been central to agriculture, commerce, and warfare. They reappear throughout art history - from Leonardo da Vinci and George Stubbs to Edgar Degas and Rosa Bonheur - embodying physical power and symbolic role. This relationship continues into the modern age: the term 'horsepower,' coined by engineer James Watt, forever links the strength of horses to mechanical progress.

 

"The title Horsepower playfully addresses the historical use of the horse in art and literature while also nodding to how we gauge the value of work," Kent explains. "From cave wall to the modern engine, the horse has remained a constant measure of power and imagination." Working across large-scale painted interiors, landscapes, and invented worlds, Kent transforms historical reference into contemporary compositions that hover between reality and imagination. His works merge Renaissance perspective with modern imagery, uniting architectural precision with expressive abstraction.

 

His new exhibition traces a continuum of human ambition - from the classical to the industrial, the mythological to the mechanical. Several of these titles, also names of rocket systems used in space exploration and warfare, point to a duality that defines Kent's vision: horsepower as a measure of physical, technological, and political power. The exhibition continues his investigation into systems of value and transformation, creating spaces where past and present converge, and inviting viewers to reflect on how symbols evolve - from horse to engine to rocket - yet continue to shape our collective imagination.