THE PAST WILL FAIL YOU

The Past Will Fail You was the US debut of multi-media artist Edward Mills. Born and raised in the United States, Mills has lived in Paris, France for the last two decades. Since 2019, he has exhibited in Paris and elsewhere in France. Working between drawing, painting, and sculpture, his organic style combines a form of surrealist automatism with physically demanding, machine-like outputs.

The exhibition and residency explore the destruction of the self as a necessary part of growth and self-actualization. The public is invited to view the artist at work as he explores space beyond what is familiar for him. This process, on view during the exhibition and residency, involves the artist’s preparation for and real-time dialogue with an interactive sculpture entitled “The Cube” – a conceptual device representing whoever interacts with it. Using the experience of interplay with The Cube throughout the exhibition, the artist collects and codifies discoveries into an original artwork created entirely during the residency. During his residency, there were opportunities to build with Edward and smash The Cube or create giant towers of black or white and dazzling rainbow cityscapes, all with 1000 handmade wooden blocks. Some of the creations can be seen in the photos below. The final, completed artwork was publicly exhibited at the conclusion of the residency along with The Cube through which it was conceived.