Art for When the Rabbit Hole Was Worth It
Because sometimes the obsession actually leads somewhere
Good morning! Welcome to another weekly roundup of contemporary art selections. In the aftermath of May’s overstimulated, insufficiently-Instagram-documented, burnout battle, I am reminded of this quote from Tom Ford’s film, A Single Man:
“A few times in my life I’ve had moments of absolute clarity... [T]hings seem so sharp. And the world seems so fresh... I have lived my life on these moments... I realize that everything is exactly the way it was meant to be.”
Engaging with contemporary art often feels like this, granting moments of clarity and new perspectives. Mariko Makino is an artist whose practice does exactly that for me.
I first encountered her work four years ago on the Lower East Side and immediately included it in a newsletter. Ignoring the fact that I am a total sculpture addict, Makino’s work felt so fresh and unique.
She combines neon tubing with beautifully crafted wood, and I couldn’t stop thinking about the convergence of manufactured materials and the natural world.
There was a multitude of ensuing rabbit holes including but not limited to: to what extent is anything truly man-made when we ourselves are natural? What does that say about our impact on the planet and global warming? And somehow, before I get too unhinged here, the Garden of Eden.
Fast forward four years and Makino’s work is included in Kelly Wearstler's gallery Side Hustle. She also has expanded her practice and created outdoor sculptures, which I am ecstatic to include in this week’s newsletter below.
That is the thing about contemporary art that nobody really tells you at the beginning. The true fulfillment is not always the acquisition: sometimes it is to witness. I love following artists’ practices, watching them build year by year.
And I love even more being a part of that story by collecting their art, and going to their openings, and zealously sharing their press (shout out to Daniel Correa Mejía, whose work is included below and was just named an Artist To Watch by Galerie Magazine).
You witness the scale expand, the thinking deepen, and the confidence settle in. And then one day you are standing in an outdoor exhibition in Red Hook on a warm Saturday night in front of Makino’s 8 Field Objects, with galvanized steel and neon lit up against a brick wall, and you remember the first small sculpture you saw four years ago.
You feel the whole arc of it and that is what this newsletter is about. Not just what to buy but who to watch. Subscribe to follow along!
