Stilthouse, Mumbai 2018

Arne Quinze made this vividly colored sculpture, called Stilthouse, in Mumbai. I can imagine Quinze, out there in the heat and dust, assembling this towering artwork. At first glance, it’s just a collection of angular shapes. But the colors are doing so much work here. Bright yellows and greens morph into pinks and purples, creating an exuberant energy. It is like a playground of colors and forms. I'm taken by the precarious balance of it all – the way the various elements seem to defy gravity. It reminds me of some of the wilder, more playful constructions of folk art. And there’s something about its scale that suggests a connection to urban spaces and landscapes. Like an exploded architectural model, or a deconstructed skyscraper, it mirrors the dynamic chaos of the city around it. All artists learn from each other, riffing off ideas across generations, and this piece embraces that artistic conversation, full of happy accidents.