Horsepower : Dubai

5 - 30 November 2025
  • 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 varied symbolism. 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,”.

  • Tim Kent Blinding, 2025 Oil on Canvas 65 x 60 in 165.1 x 152.4 cm (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Tim Kent 300HP, 2025 Oil on Canvas 65 x 60 in 165.1 x 152.4 cm (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Tim Kent, Art handlers, 2023 - 2025 (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Tim Kent, Trojan, 2023 (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Tim Kent, Folly!, 2025 (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Tim Kent, Out, out brief candle , 2025 (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Tim Kent, Station to Station, 2025 (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Tim Kent, Runaway!, 2025 (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Tim Kent, Arts Work , 2024 (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Tim Kent, Blinding, 2025
  • Tim Kent Pegasus, 2025 Oil on Canvas 193 x 185.4 cm
    Tim Kent, Pegasus, 2025, Oil on canvas, 193 x 185.4 cm, 193 x 185.4 cm

    Renaissance perspective with modern imagery

    Working across large-scale painted interiors, landscapes, and invented worlds, Kent transforms historical reference into contemporary compositions that hover between reality and imagination.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.

  • “From cave wall to the modern engine, the horse has remained a constant measure of power and imagination.”

     
  • Tim Kent Blinding, 2025 Oil on canvas 65 x 60 in 165.1 x 152.4 cm
    Tim Kent, Blinding, 2025, Oil on canvas, 65 x 60 in, 165.1 x 152.4 cm

    From the classical to the industrial

    Within this exhibition, Kent explores 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 both physical or technological, and political power. The exhibition continues his investigation into systems of value and transformation, creating spaces where past and present converge. He invites viewers to reflect on how symbols evolve – from horse to engine to rocket – yet continue to shape our collective imagination.

  • Tim Kent playing art handlers.

    TIM KENT

    Tim Kent (b. 1975, Canada/USA) is a Canadian-American artist based in Brooklyn, New York. His work explores power structures within art and history, global infrastructures, and social relations. Combining architectural perspective, landscape, and abstraction, Kent creates ethereal compositions that transform historical motifs into psychologically charged spaces.