The makings of you
MASS MoCA•May 02, 2026 — Apr 18, 2027
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Michael E. Smith makes installations from familiar objects — sneakers, buckets, product packaging, glass — retooling materials that remain, in his words, “stubbornly themselves.” He tests the way objects interact when placed together, describing a successful sculptural maneuver as finding “the other halves of objects,” two unlikely things that, once paired, seem to have been waiting for each other.
In The makings of you — named after a Curtis Mayfield track — Smith's interventions surface the gallery's strangeness, emphasizing features usually meant to disappear, including vents, outlets, and lighting. He has created a tableau out of humble things — arranged, paired, and lit in ways that make them feel startlingly alive. The objects seem to look back.
Smith's installation references the Best Way Car Wash at 202 River Street, a self-service car wash that shares a property line with MASS MoCA. Smith sees the car wash as a piece of Americana and a witness to the realities of everyday life.…
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The makings of you
MASS MoCA•May 02, 2026 — Apr 18, 2027
Press Release
Michael E. Smith makes installations from familiar objects — sneakers, buckets, product packaging, glass — retooling materials that remain, in his words, “stubbornly themselves.” He tests the way objects interact when placed together, describing a successful sculptural maneuver as finding “the other halves of objects,” two unlikely things that, once paired, seem to have been waiting for each other.
In The makings of you — named after a Curtis Mayfield track — Smith's interventions surface the gallery's strangeness, emphasizing features usually meant to disappear, including vents, outlets, and lighting. He has created a tableau out of humble things — arranged, paired, and lit in ways that make them feel startlingly alive. The objects seem to look back.
Smith's installation references the Best Way Car Wash at 202 River Street, a self-service car wash that shares a property line with MASS MoCA. Smith sees the car wash as a piece of Americana and a witness to the realities of everyday life.…
Exhibition Space
Artist
Guestbook
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