Mariah Robertson: Book of Details 2022, 3rd Floor

Van Doren Waxter is pleased to present a selection of works by Mariah Robertson, coinciding with the release of her Book of Details 2022. The presentation will be comprised of recent works by Robertson, featuring her compound works on RA-4 paper. Details from the creation of these works comprise the book, published independently by Robertson. Accompanying the opening of the presentation will be a book signing on June 16th at the gallery.

In 2020, Robertson began creating multipart works–created through division via cutting, light exposure, repetition, and finally re-integration. These irregularly shaped prints are layered to create a work within a single frame. In her pairing of prints, Robertson creates a new formal relationship between the separated parts. These composites are unique, formalizing the elements of playfulness and chance between the pairings–an important aspect to Robertson’s practice. These liminal works, existing both as representation and object, foreground Robertson’s intense exploration of the photographic process, picking it apart, compressing it, and doubling down on its endless ability to create.

The book documents Robertson’s studio practice at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Several hundred works from the previous decade were laid out and placed in shifting configurations around the studio, as their final forms came into focus. Occasionally, details were recorded with a photograph. Robertson’s studio assistant pointed out the value in documenting these fleeting details. Book of Details 2022 is the result of these recordings.

About the artist

MARIAH ROBERTSON (b. 1975) lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. She was educated at Yale University (MFA) and UC Berkeley (BA). Her solo exhibitions include M+B, Los Angeles, CA (2018,2015), 11R, New York (2017,2016); and American Contemporary, NY (2013). Robertson has been included in group exhibitions at institutions such as MoMA PS1, NY; International Center of Photography NY; and Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, Detroit. Her work is included in the permanent collections of The Museum of Modern Art, NY, and Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA; among others.