Claire Pentecostthe force that through the fossil drives utopia drives my greased age

Claire Pentecost’s the force that through the fossil drives utopia drives my greased age is an outdoor sculpture consisting of a 17-foot motor boat tilted earthward and crashing into the frame of a geodesic dome. Plants emerge from the fragments of the dome. Largely weeds, these plants stand in for the first stage of secession in a disturbed earth.

Dependent upon an increasingly scarce water supply, global cultures risk moving into an era in which conflict and achievement are driven not by the oil wars of the 20th century, but by struggles to control water flow. The motor boat, at once out-dated and functional, signifies the collision of oil and water economies. Crashing, as it does, into the utopian form of the geodesic globe, the free-wheeling pleasure vehicle points to a dark future.

An internationally acclaimed, Chicago-based artist, Pentecost continues an investigation into climate, natural resources, and systems of knowledge and ecology in this outdoor sculpture at The Arts Club of Chicago. Visible from the sidewalk and striking in its message and physical presence, it is meant to instigate conversation among passersby, as well as visitors to the gallery.