Philip Hart: The Texture of Memory

Philip Hart: 

The Texture of Memory

November 7 - November 30, 2025

First Friday Opening Reception, Friday, November 7th, 6-9 pm

Philip Hart’s work is based on an exploration of pattern recognition fundamental to language,intelligence, and memory. The composition of his mobiles are based on form, order, and balance which, when set in motion, reveal complex, ever-evolving patterns. Perception of the fluidity and impermanence of pattern reflects the fragility, malleability, and resilience of consciousness and memory. 

Composition and motion are co-equal subjects of his work. The Texture of Memory is an assemblage of 37 mobiles, each composed of 15 horizontally hung CDs – 550 in total. A compact disk (CD) is a form of physical memory storage. Phil has collected CDs since the early ‘90s: computer software installation disks from home and work, advertising, music transferred from vinyl LPs to later generations of digital storage. They represent technological advancement as well as being personal markers of his career, parenting, and aging. Though they are manufactured to a comprehensive design specification, CDs have a remarkable range of individuality in their spectral, reflective, and refractive qualities. Their colored labels add another layer of individuality that are revealed through reflections in the undersides of higher pieces.

Memory is fluid and contextual. When we recall events, we see them through the lens of our past and current situations and perceptions – memories evolve; memories are malleable. The Texture of Memory moves and shapeshifts in response to currents of air in the gallery as people come and go. Just as memories do, it ripples and flows, shimmers, and reassembles. 

Artist’s Bio

Philip C. Hart was a Philosophy major at Haverford College and later studied Architecture at the Boston Architectural College. He worked for architectural firms in Boston before moving to Maine in 1986. In Maine, his focus was on designing public schools until he retired in 2010. Since that time, he has engaged in a process of discovery through the medium of mobiles, sharing his work in galleries across the US. He lives with his wife Susan in Philadelphia, PA.