Aron John Dubois
The Barbed Piper

September 23 – November 4, 2023

The Valley is pleased to present Aron John Dubois’ second solo exhibition with the gallery, titled The Barbed Piper. Through a character of his own invention, a dark foil to the mythical figure of Pan called "The Barbed Piper," we are guided through an exploration of the opposing spiritual experiences found in the ripening and changing of the seasons. As summer and the harvest draws to a close, Dubois draws our attention to the grief that exists alongside the latent potential of warmer days.

Each painting in the exhibition began as a reflection on the summer season and the duality of the season’s symbolic associations. Where there is joy and warmth, there is fear and melancholy too. At first glance, these works appear exuberant and full of the summer spirit, depictions of earthly delights swirling in rich colors and adorned in flowers. Upon investigation, a tinge of discomfort runs through the subject matter. Spiny structures lurk in the undergrowth, fearsome forms lurch in the shadows, and tendrils of doubt unfurl like creeping vines. Each painting could be a tune of The Barbed Piper’s pipe, a hypnotic song that lures you in and then reveals its’ barbs.

This exhibition also sees Dubois venturing into new material realms for his esoteric compositions, in addition to works on paper, The Barbed Piper includes ceramic sculpture and mixed-media sculptural wall works. Bells bedecked in thorns symbolize the resonance of nature when we deliberately summon her, with intention for introspection, celebration, or truth. Rather than resounding a sweet tone, they are harsh and atonal, much like the message of impermanence on our unwilling ears- a lesson that sometimes what we wish to summon doesn’t bear the fruit we had hoped for. Framed tiles made of wood and ceramic give Dubois’ familiar altar-like compositions new materiality, and new significance. Are these runes are intended to be idols, or objects of worship, unearthed from some ancient forest? A sacred tree, for the many manifestations of nature. A mirror in the form of a flower, reflecting back a distorted vision, for the realization of selfhood in nature. 

“Have you ever been on a hike in the woods and not felt the connection or joy you thought you would? The barbed piper was there. His handiwork is trickery, and he prays on the expectant or possessive. The barbed piper plays a tune for us when we are at most against nature, unwilling to accept the impermanence and discomfort that is inherent to her existence (and our inseparable own). We hold on to ideals about nature, but they rarely fulfill us. When they do, it is soon a fleeting memory. “Every rose has its thorn” is a good banner for The Barbed Piper. He represents the simultaneous arising of love and despair, hope and forlorn, fulfillment and disappointment.” —- AJD ❦