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’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.