Inspired by the title and theme of Alan Hollinghurst’s acclaimed novel, the show features a collection of work that celebrates the intriguing ability of line to organize, illuminate and horrify. Selected works by: Peikwen Cheng, Holly Collins, Robert Crumb, Nicola Durvasula, Charles Goldman, Angelina Guaidoni , Wade Guyton, Colter Jacobsen, Mike Kelly, Patrick Lee, Craig Love, Kelly McLane, Tracy Miller, Patrick McMullen, Gabriel Orozco, William Scott, Gert and Owe Tobias, Scott Treleaven, Ginna Triplett, Carlos de Villasante, Michael Waugh, Charles Hovland, and others.

Hollinghurst uses linear images to track the development of his protagonist, Nick, a young gay man searching for social identity in 1980’s England. The journey begins in the “wide tireless streets” of Kensington Park Gardens, where Nick, “raked by sun,” walks by “two white terraces [that] stare at each other with the glazed tolerance of rich neighbors.” Here, Hollinghurst extracts lines that we habitually encounter in nature, compares them visually, and then explains their ability to take on various qualities; in this case lonely, blinding and pretentious. Similarly, the exhibition examines the omnipotent properties of line. Together, the selected works show that line is infinite yet simple, elemental yet complicated by its specific purpose.