Art & Installations
Art Gallery Proposal
Seeing those around us get engaged, Nicole and I were witness to many proposals of varying types. Occasionally we would discuss these proposals, as couples do. On one such occasion she said to me:
“You’re creative, you’ll probably do something cool.”
And if it wasn’t already, from that moment the pressure was on.
At first I thought I’ll make something (emphasis on singular ‘thing’) and hang it in a gallery. How cool would that be to tour an art gallery and stumble across a custom piece? But then I called Storm King and tried convincing them to let me plop a huge sculpture on their land for a day. After some hard negotiating they politely declined. Then the MET and the MOMA ghosted me. So I thought, “OK, well I still like this art gallery idea, so I guess I’ll just make my own.”
The Artwork
“Start the Stopwatch” - painted acrylic, wood, encasing a lightbulb
“Five Towns Tax” - 1999 Toyota Corolla hubcap
“First Date Jitters” - hand-painted on white panel
“Punkin Lunkin” - hand-painted on white panel
“Just Lean into It” - laser-cut, hand-painted & assembled
“You’re My Favorite Color” - colored acrylic panels on hand-built wooden sliders with a light behind - when moved to overlap, the panels shine purple
“F*** the Belt Parkway” - hand-painted on white panel
“Relics” - two jars from ‘Wonderspaces’ in Philadelphia
“Punim” - mahogany wooden blocks, CNC etched (v-bit) and painted
“Her Happy Place” - hand-painted on white panel
“High Praise”, “The Simple Things”, “Drink My Pee, Chowdhury” - screenshot, AI images, a parking ticket
“Hu U Looking At” - chocolate bars on a white panel
“Lil’ Harold” - cardboard, wood, and paper - hand-built and hand-painted, suspended from the ceiling by fishing line
“:)” - hand-painted on white panel
![[Redacted] - slow-cured plaster, carved on a CNC router, hand-painted](/_next/image?url=%2Fimages%2Fprojects%2Fart%2Fart-gallery-proposal%2FOYM01293.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
[Redacted] - slow-cured plaster, carved on a CNC router, hand-painted
“Good Intentions” - iron-on letters, suspended from nails by fishing line
“The Girl with the Faces” - a gift, hand-drawn by Nicole
“Solar-Powered Love” - hand-painted on white panel
“Floppy” - wood mosaic, laser cut and hand-painted
“Poop Dirt” - a jar filled with soil
“Heart on My Sleeve” - hand-drawn sketches, ironed onto t-shirts
“Unlimited Nachas” - enlarged print
“Reminiscence” - 6" x 6" white ceramic tiles, painted black and laser-etched through the paint, displayed on hand-built wooden frame
“Possibilities” - blank 6" x 6" white ceramic tiles on a hand-built wooden frame
“Cherished” - hand-painted, enlarged recreation of a note left in my notebook, on white panel
“The First Slide” - print on panel, final text bubble peels away to reveal a hidden message
“ ” - laser-cut wooden box with flush-fit drawer, painted white, drawer pulls out to reveal the ring box
The Gallery
Right side of the gallery
Left side of the gallery
My favorite part: after I proposed, our families came by and Nicole gave them a tour of the gallery.
I didn't think about how I probably set the bar pretty high for myself on this one. For our 10th anniversary I'll take her to space or something... A problem for future me. (If you have connections to mentorship in glass blowing or ice sculpting please reach out)