For weeks, Eugene Macki and the Mattress Factory installation team have been meticulously crafting this stunning new exhibition. In their largest and most ambitious project to date, Macki continues their decade-long exploration of making the intangible, tangible through performance, sculpture, and installation.

Macki was selected for exhibition by a panel of Mattress Factory alumni artists through the International Open Call. Artists who have worked in residency with Mattress Factory offer perspective unlike any other, one that is deeply familiar with the museum, engaged in many aspects of the contemporary art field, and invested in pushing our exhibitions in new directions. The artist alumni panelists for the 2021 International Open Call were Vanessa German, Sohrab Kashani, Christopher Meerdo and Sarah Oppenheimer.

Alcoholic and non-alcoholic refreshments are available.

There is limited parking at our main building parking lot located at 505 Jacksonia Street, as well as street parking in the surrounding neighborhood.

About REIFICATION

Reification (noun): The process of regarding or treating an abstraction as if it had concrete or material existence. 

In a room with walls covered in thick, viscous rubber, visitors encounter a sloped wooden walkway cutting through the middle of the gallery, extending the full length of the space. Surrounding this walkway are hundreds of rubber-coated sculptures, buried amidst a landscape of thousands of meticulously cut cardboard pieces. Evoking the Terracotta Army of China as well as archaeological sites in Greece, REIFICATION references these ancient monuments while becoming an activated site for discovery.   

At the very back of the room, the artist explores the body in space through three videos, each presenting a series of performances by Macki and collaborator Michelle Boulé, filmed within the empty gallery. The straightforward, starkly shot videos show the artists exploring how their movements activate the space.  

 REIFICATION is also a reflection of Macki's interest in the ubiquity and value of objects. By manipulating simple materials like roofing rubber and cardboard—typically associated with practical needs—Macki repurposes them in ways that defy their original use, in many ways stripping away their conventional value. Here, the artist draws our attention to the significance we assign to objects and spaces, challenging us to rethink what we deem important and meaningful.  

About Eugene Macki

Eugene Macki is a multi-disciplinary artist who grew up in Hackney, East London. Macki's artwork is known for its versatility and encompasses a range of mediums including sculpture, installation, land art, experimental video, and performance. Macki explores what it means to exist and the role of objects within this field of existence. They are also interested in different types of transformations, and how objects come to acquire meaning. They work within the domain of land art, installation, video, sculpture, and performance. Macki frequently travels to various locations to work on site-specific projects.

Macki is a member of the British Art Network and the Royal Society of Sculptors (UK) and was a 2023/24 NXTHVN Studio Fellow in New Haven, CT. Macki holds a Master’s degree in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Arts in London and attended residencies at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine; Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, OR among others. Macki has exhibited their work at the National Liberty Museum, Pennsylvania; The Salisbury Museum, UK; the Royal Academy of Arts, UK; GroundWork Gallery, UK; Aspex Gallery, UK; and performed at Socrates Sculpture Park in New York among other venues. He recently exhibited with James Cohan at the Campus.