"One" by Matthew Adelman
| February 19, 2008

I attended an art show this weekend in the city of Jupiter Florida. The show had a couple of hundred booths ranging from typical bad 1980's palm tree art, to crafts disguised as art.

However, there was one booth that was perhaps one of the most conceptually sound and innovative displays of modern art that I have seen in a long time. The piece was entitled "One" created by Matthew Adelman. The Painting is 50 inches tall by 20,000 inches long (when completed). Visually the painting is composed of abstract shapes and strokes creating a seemingly collage aesthetic.

What makes this art truly unique is that Matthew then cuts the painting into one inch squares. Each square is signed numbered and dated and is for sale individually for a few dollars. It seemed like such a novelty at first but as I thought about it I realized the truly inspiring part about the work. An individual could buy a square, a few squares, squares grouped together, squares with no relevance to each other, squares of their choice. Or the patron can buy as much as they wish assembling a large or small piece depending on their budget, making art easily attainable.

I also learned from Matthew that he intends to keep a record of all the people that own pieces of the painting and somehow make it even more interactive via the "One" website. He even mentioned that people will be able to purchase pieces via the website.

This piece was Interactive, customizable, intimate, intimidating, visually complex yet beautifully simple. I urge everyone to seek out this piece of work if it comes to an art show or gallery near you. Check out the website for his schedule.

Link:  a piece of one

Tags:  abstract, art, interactive, large, small, unique

Topic: Fine Art