Matthew Metzger: Ghost

September 22, 2011 - October 7, 2012

Matthew Metzger, Ghost, 2011, Latex on canvas with clear coat protectant. Courtesy of the artist.

Matthew Metzger, Ghost, 2011, Latex on canvas with clear coat protectant. Courtesy of the artist.

The instantly recognizable red-and-white scuba “diver down” emblem alerts boaters to keep their distance as a diver is in the water and near the surface. Designed in 1953, it is now commonly emblazoned on stickers, t-shirts, flags, and other products.

For Chicago-based artist Matthew Metzger, the logo also provides formal and philosophical groundwork for exploration in a new painting commissioned for the Smart’s sculpture garden. Metzger (University of Chicago MFA 2009) sees the image as a memento mori that reminds us both of the body’s limited capacity to occupy a space and of our fleeting mortality. He is also interested in the emblem’s formal connections to hard-edge abstract painting of the 1950s and 60s through its color fields and emphasis on shape and dimension.

In a thought-provoking new painting that references art history and popular culture, Metzger recreates the “diver down” logo while maintaining its emblematic proportions, within the constraints of a large canvas that fills the horizontal dimensions of the Museum’s entryway.


Threshold

The Threshold series brings a major installation of contemporary art to the Smart Museum’s reception hall and sculpture garden each year, ensuring that all visitors—whether they have come to the building for a class, an exhibition, or a cup of coffee—will instantly encounter new art.