woman with portable shelter in landscape

Elysian Fields

Mary Mattingly, 2006, chromogenic dye coupler print, 25″ x 60″, © 2006, courtesy of Robert Mann Gallery and the artist

Mary Mattingly

Mary Mattingly is a Brooklyn-based artist whose work explores issues of sustainability, climate change and displacement. Mattingly combines photography, performance, portable architecture and sculptural ecosystems into poetic visions of adaptation and survival. In her work, we encounter nomads laboring under the weight of their possessions. We witness their pilgrimage over parched lands and swollen bodies of water. We see refugees of a tainted past seeking out a sustainable future in the natural world. We watch as they carve out an itinerant existence, embracing simple and adaptable strategies for survival. And we see the artist sifting through the particles of her own life in search of a sustainable footprint. In her ambitious multi-media projects, Mary Mattingly aspires to do more than issue a warning about environmental neglect and its aftermath. She offers specific solutions and architectural prototypes that we can build upon in our pursuit of a better life. She inspires hope that we can prepare for a changing world through innovative design and a restorative relationship with nature. Are we ready to embark upon the great migration of our time, from the shortsighted habits of the past to the nimble and sustainable ways of the future?

Explore the Gallery

book with bookmark
brain
inkblot in the form of insect with wolf profiles in negative space
image of mountain with reflection in lake
fist that grows into a tree
ball of possessions sitting on top of nude woman

Life of Objects

Mary Mattingly, 2013, chromogenic dye coupler print, 40″ x 40″, © 2013, courtesy of Robert Mann Gallery and the artist

woman pulling ball of possessions

Pull

Mary Mattingly, 2013, chromogenic dye coupler print, 40″ x 40″, © 2013, courtesy of Robert Mann Gallery and the artist

woman on shore with flotation gear

Inflatable Home

Mary Mattingly, 2008, chromogenic dye coupler print, 30″ x 40″, © 2008, courtesy of Robert Mann Gallery and the artist

woman carrying plastic bags of belongings

The Furies (Titian, again)

Mary Mattingly, 2013, chromogenic dye coupler print, 40″ x 40″, © 2013, courtesy of Robert Mann Gallery and the artist

boat filled with plastic bags

Floating a Boulder

Mary Mattingly, 2012, chromogenic dye coupler print, 40″ x 40″, © 2012, courtesy of Robert Mann Gallery and the artist

woman in arid landscape

Dry Season

Mary Mattingly, 2007, chromogenic dye coupler print, 40″ x 40″, © 2007, courtesy of Robert Mann Gallery and the artist

women in costume with birds

Bird Farming

Mary Mattingly, 2007, chromogenic dye coupler print, 30″ x 40″, © 2007, courtesy of Robert Mann Gallery and the artist

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