Max Guy

Zorn and Thorn, 2026 Ferric acetate on cedar, shellac, gum arabic, museum board, paper. In my sculpture classes I assign my students to make two of something. I ask them why they might make, or need, two of anything. How two things are made, all of that. The twin masks are the first I have whole templates to carve with, multiple silhouettes, not just one. Zorn and Thorn were two black mages and antagonists in FFIX, the baroque steampunk story about imperialism. They disguised themselves as court jesters of the bellicose Queen Brahne, only later to be revealed as traitors, serving Kuja from the Twin World. Some lore is that somehow the characters represent the twin moons shared by Gaia and Terra. They fuse into a demon called Meltigemini. Since Tiepolo drew so many Pulcinelli why not give them each names? Last two illustrations are by Giandomenico Tiepolo and Yoshitaka Amano. On view at @esther.newyork with @laurelgitlen

HBD @shirende stay cozy!!!!!! ❤️❤️❤️

Matrix, on view in ‘Ornament and Information’ at the Chicago Cultural Center curated by Gareth Kaye. Shouts out to the Ganahls, the Bruggers, the Gutenbrunners, and the Sengsbratls in my life. That’s a photocopy of my mom cosplaying as Maria in the Montafon.

Invisible People, 2026 Laser cut duralar On view @laurelgitlen for two more weekends. Call it an adaptation of Will Eisner’s graphic novel of the same title, where people shrink themselves to death, lose their magic, disappear, become homeless, etc. It’s more about people’s cruelty towards themselves than the cruelty of others. Hermann Rorschach apparently entertained his inpatients with silhouettes. You can see a selection of said silhouettes in Vol. 2 of @artandorderjournal Thanks, Brit. There are also a few Haniwa Effigies and Ningyo in this one that if you look long enough you can see. I sit out on the street a lot and watch people walking. Around, I think about culture in action and the drunk people on Blue Island and 18th who open up lampposts and plug in their TVs, sound systems. The ICE whistles and the tires. I think about how more and more people are out on the streets and all the buildings that burn and crumble and how cities might one day just be masses of wandering aimless zombies. The show Pluribus is really just a show about highly efficient and civilized zombies. Apple TV gets me hooked on shows that subliminally explain the corporations own intentions. With all this talk about whole civilizations being bombed out of existence, I’ve been thinking about how fragile cities really are. If you visit the show you might even smell the plastic burning. Photos 1 and 3 are by @ccbbenton

Morpheus 1-8 not in that order. On view at Laurel Gitlen @laurelgitlen for two more weekends. Morpheus 9-10 are on view at the Chicago Cultural Center in the Chicago Galleries. Photos 2-9 by @ccbbenton

⏰⏰ 2 more weeks to see Max Guy, I’m here to stop. —- “Invisible People” is hand-cut from Duralar, a flexible and thin material that is clear, white and mirrored. Source material is culled from the artist’s library and includes silhouetted images from books on Hermann Rorschach and Haniwa-era funeral sculptures in addition to Ode to Kirihito by Osamu Tezuka, the Dance of Death by Hans Holbein, monographs by Barbara Hepworth and Isamu Noguchi, and Bonsai Basics by Christian Pessey and Remy Samson. Guy writes: “Noguchi and Hepworth are principled, utopian, civic-minded sculptors who, in some ways, were early global art stars. Bonsai trees are tortured nature. The two graphic novels I’ve pulled from (Kirihito and Dance of Death) are about epic moral lessons, tales of resilience, and forgiveness. I started using them all in 2024, after a really rough year that ended with a lot of international travel for art. I got to see a Hans Holbein gallery in Basel, Switzerland, and a bunch of hunched-over, dying opioid addicts in Vancouver’s Chinatown, within one week.” With its bendy forms and toppling figures, this work is self-supported by coils and interlocking, slotted cuts in the material. It is titled after a graphic novel by Will Eisner about people who disappear from society, minimize themselves, become untouchables, die, or become homeless. These are people on the margins of society who accidentally will themselves out of existence, and the consequences of those actions. Like many of Guy’s works, it points to a duality between invented worlds of morailty and reason and the more violent, chaotic and racist reality we inhabit. —- Max Guy Invisible People, 2026 Laser cut Duralar Strips: 9 in. max height, 24 in. width, and .005 in. depth, (22.86 x 60.96 x .0127 cm.)

The wine bottle sculptures are titled with a portmanteau of two video games:  Silent Hill is a horror franchise primarily set in the fictional town of Silent Hill, Maine, which is plagued by supernatural events, the occult, and dreams that manifest physically, often in the form of horrific environments and creatures stalking the protagonists. Final Fantasy is an anthology series with primary installments being standalone role-playing games, each with different settings, plots, and main characters. Each plot centers on a group of heroes battling a great evil and also explores the characters’ internal struggles and relationships.  The luminous empty vessels from Sancerres, Chenins, Gamays, Rieslings, Grüners, consumed at home by Max and his partner are topped with little pinball moons above the quietly floating forms. The silhouetted figures are largely drawn from the artist’s library:  Hans Holbein, Hermann Rorschach, Isamu Noguchi and Barbara Hepworth (two artists Guy refers to as “principled, utopian, civic-minded sculptors; early global art stars.“),  Bonsai Basics by Christian Pessey and Remy Samson (tortured nature) and figures from two graphic novels (Kirihito and Dance of Death), moral lessons about resilience and forgiveness.  Guy started working with these images in 2024, “after a really rough year that ended with a lot of international travel for art. I got to see a Hans Holbein gallery in Basel, Switzerland, and a bunch of hunched-over, dying opioid addicts in Vancouver’s Chinatown, within one week.” On view through May 2, 2026. Open hours 11-5 Thursday- Saturday and by appointment. Bed Stuy Brooklyn, DM for the address. #maxguy @leaf_bootleg 📷 @ccbbenton

2026 Re/Match Artist 💫 Max Guy Max Guy works with paper, video, performance, assemblage, and installation. He uses fast, ergonomic ways to make poetry of the world, filtering it through personal effects. He is inspired by various creative communities he’s been immersed in since childhood. Guy embraces study and amateurism as a love of doing. He describes his work as “eclectic”— each piece approaches a topic tangentially. Select solo and two-person exhibitions include The Renaissance Society (Chicago, IL), Centralbanken (Oslo, Norway), Good Weather (Chicago, IL), James Cope (Dallas, TX) and Romance (Pittsburgh, PA). Guy received a BFA in 2011 from Maryland Institute College of Art and MFA in 2016 from Northwestern University. Image: Necropolis, 2025, Laser-cut Dura-Lar, MDF, chalk paint, saw horses, 97 x 49 x 39 in.

‘I’m here to stop’ opened a little over a week ago @laurelgitlen ! It was a sweet homecoming and I got to see some old friends and make new ones. The actual documentation is awesome but here are a few shots from my phone. Hope you can see it, on view til May 2nd! More soon. Peace to Baltimore.

Last week, our members had the opportunity to partake in a studio visit with Max Guy and hear from the artist in conversation with Gertie’s own Gareth Kaye. Stepping inside Max’s process offered an intimate look at the materials and references that shape his interdisciplinary practice, which spans print, sculpture, performance, and writing. In a wide-ranging dialogue, Max and Gareth explored Max’s commitment to making art like an “amateur,” his interest in appropriation and reassembly, and his formative experiences as a student with performance and theater. Many thanks to Max for welcoming us into his practice and engaging our members in conversation! Look out for more Max Guy x Gertie news coming soon👀 Photo credits: Portrait by Natasha Moustache, installation photography by Travis Roozée for Good Weather.

⤾ Meet the artist: Max Guy Jego praca „His Master’s Voice” jest częścią wystawy „N Body Problem”. Max Guy (ur. 1989, McAllen, Teksas) to artysta multidyscyplinarny, który pracuje z papierem, wideo, performansem, asamblażem oraz instalacją. W swojej twórczości wykorzystuje materiały zapożyczone oraz oparte na prostych gestach. Interesuje go ergonomiczny sposób refleksji nad światem i filtrowania go przez osobiste afekty. Guy uzyskał dyplom BFA w Maryland Institute College of Art oraz tytuł MFA w Department of Art, Theory and Practice na Northwestern University. Jego prace były prezentowane w USA oraz za granicą. ► ENG His work “His Master’s Voice” is part of the exhibition “N Body Problem.” Max Guy (1989, McAllen, Texas) is a multidisciplinary artist who works with paper, video, performance, assemblage, and installation. He uses appropriated material and deskilled working methods as a fast, ergonomic way of reflecting the world and filtering it through personal affects. Guy received a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art, and an MFA from the Department of Art, Theory and Practice at Northwestern University. His work has been exhibited in Chicago, nationally, and internationally.

Sitting Ovation Session: On Silence Chicago. Saturday, October 25, 2025 “I asked you what silence was and you said absence. A noun. I said it was omission. A verb.” … “Whatever it is, we know what it isn’t — part of the conversation we’re not having anymore.” *** Thank you Max! Thank you Good Weather! Thank you everyone for coming. A transcript and recording will be available soon. ❤️🏙️