Aarron’s friend Trenton Doyle Hancock did something remarkable when they were both in the graduate Painting and Drawing program at the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia—he had work in the Whitney Biennial. It was a bit like winning an Oscar while in acting school, just not something that ever happens.
Most people are thrown by early success, but not Trenton. He pressed forward in his studio where he crafted epic stories in large scale paintings that later expanded into installations, sculptures, and performance art. His creative process is unique. Piles of collected objects, receipts, food wrappers, etc find their way into his work where their color, texture and attitude unfold as the fabric of Trenton’s universe of heroes, villains, and ancient mysteries.
We spoke with Trenton about his neurodivergent approach to the world, how collecting influences his visual sensibilities, and how chaos becomes precise order in his work. At the time of our recording, Trenton had a large show at the Jewish Museum in New York exploring intersecting themes in his work and that of Philip Guston.
Bio
For nearly two decades, Trenton Doyle Hancock has created a vivid, fantastical universe where autobiographical elements blend seamlessly with references to art history, comics, superheroes, and popular culture. Through paintings, drawings, and expansive installations, Hancock crafts complex narratives exploring themes of good versus evil, infused with personal symbolism and mythology. His work draws stylistically from artists like Hieronymus Bosch, Max Ernst, Henry Darger, Philip Guston, and R. Crumb, integrating text as both narrative driver and visual element. His distinctive storytelling has extended beyond gallery walls into performances, ballet collaborations such as Cult of Color: Call to Color with Ballet Austin, and murals at prominent public spaces including Dallas Cowboys Stadium and Seattle Art Museum’s Olympic Sculpture Park.
Born in Oklahoma City in 1974 and raised in Paris, Texas, Hancock studied art at Texas A&M University, Commerce, and earned his MFA from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University. His career features numerous prestigious exhibitions, notably the Whitney Biennial in 2000 and 2002—making him one of the youngest artists ever included at that time. His major exhibitions include retrospectives at the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston, MASS MoCA’s Mind of the Mound: Critical Mass, and collaborations like his 2024 Jewish Museum exhibition pairing him with Philip Guston. Hancock’s artworks are held in prominent permanent collections, including those of MoMA, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, and Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
Premium Episodes on Design Better
This is a premium episode on Design Better. We release two premium episodes per month, along with two free episodes for everyone. Premium subscribers also get access to the documentary Design Disruptors and our growing library of books, as well as our monthly AMAs with former guests, ad-free episodes, discounts and early access to workshops, and our monthly newsletter The Brief that compiles salient insights, quotes, readings, and creative processes uncovered in the show.
Visiting the links below is one of the best ways to support our show:
Masterclass: MasterClass is the only streaming platform where you can learn and grow with over 200+ of the world's best. People like Steph Curry, Paul Krugman, Malcolm Gladwell, Dianne Von Furstenberg, Margaret Atwood, Lavar Burton and so many more inspiring thinkers share their wisdom in a format that is easy to follow and can be streamed anywhere on a smartphone, computer, smart TV, or even in audio mode. MasterClass always has great offers during the holidays, sometimes up to as much as 50% off. Head over to http://masterclass.com/designbetter for the current offer.
Thuma: We’re the sort of people who can’t help but get lost in the details of creating a beautiful living space. A well designed home is a sanctuary for creative thinking. For those who revel in crafting a beautiful living space, Thuma offers modern furniture that transforms your home into a sanctuary for creative thinking.
Their timelessly designed beds, nightstands, dressers, and shelving are built from solid wood using Japanese joinery techniques for a silent, stable foundation, balancing form, craftsmanship, and functionality. With clean lines, subtle curves, and a minimalist style available in four signature finishes—and an upgradeable headboard—the Thuma Bed collection assembles in just about 5 minutes with a single hand-tightened screw, ensuring a durable piece backed by a lifetime warranty.
To get $100 towards your first bed purchase, go to http://thuma.co/designbetter.
If you're interested in sponsoring the show, please contact us at: sponsors@thecuriositydepartment.com
If you'd like to submit a guest idea, please contact us at: contact@thecuriositydepartment.com
Insights from the episode
Here are some insights from our conversation with Trenton Doyle Hancock that you can draw inspiration from:
1. Creative Process: From Chaos to Order
Trenton has a unique approach to organization, allowing what appears as chaos to those outside to have its own internal structure:
"It's sort of like going from chaos to order in your life... I think there's this idea of order that needs to happen. And it's a different target for everyone."
He describes how he organizes his collections meticulously once they become part of his creative canon. For designers, this suggests embracing the messy middle of creative work while developing personal systems for managing information and inspiration.
2. The Power of Collecting and Visual Archives
Trenton's process heavily involves collecting objects that may or may not make it into his work:
"Some material is very close to what we would consider just art material... But then there are other things... that you found on the street. Receipts, all kinds of other things, toys... whether they make themselves physically present in a finished artwork or it might just be the essence of something, the color, the texture, something about it, an attitude, will make its way into a work."
This speaks to the importance of maintaining visual libraries, reference collections, and inspiration archives—something particularly relevant to designers building design systems or reference materials.
