Steven Harrington is making his Frieze New York debut with a sunny slice of Los Angeles. Known for his psychedelic-pop aesthetic and his beloved character, Mello, few artists can pull off such chaotic yet composed illustrative acts.
Staged at The Shed’s top-floor lounge, Harrington transforms the space into a lush technicolor environment where a moment of meditative play cuts through the clamor of Art Week, inviting viewers to slow down, linger in the now and, as the title suggests, stop to smell the flowers.
For his cozy, living room-like immersive installation, Harrington teamed up with LG to bring his vibrant universe into motion on their ultra-thin OLED screens. At the heart of the display, Mello waves from blooming fields on a transparent TV turned digital canvas. Elsewhere, he can be seen floating serenely through space and clinging onto cartoon palm trees ablaze.
Alongside animated scenes, the installation features works from Harrington’s inaugural museum solo at Seoul’s Amorepacific Museum, including a painting from Harrington’s original Stop to Smell the Flowers series, and a 10-foot dog sculpture, decked in blooms and bugs.
To celebrate his first Frieze New York, we caught up with Harrington to discuss his inspirations behind the presentation and what it’s like incorporating technology into his practice. Read on for the full interview.
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“Being an artist, something that’s really important to me is simply honoring the process, it’s really about constantly going back to the basics – pencil on paper – that’s where it always begins for me.”
Can you tell us about some of the themes behind this presentation and how it came to be?
A lot of the work was originally created for display at Frieze in Los Angeles and because of the current events that happened at the beginning of the year, we pushed it to New York.
The theme here is exploring my Stop to Smell the Flowers series. It was developing during the later stages of COVID, and I just wanted to bring some vibrancy, optimism and hope to myself and the world. I worked with LG to create my static paintings in an animated form, and it was just really exciting to work with the team and use the new transparent TV.
What was the process of translating static paintings into dynamic animations?
Being an artist, something that’s really important to me is simply honoring the process, it’s really about constantly going back to the basics – pencil on paper – that’s where it always begins for me. It’s always about that initial development and refining that development over time until I create a work of art.
How do you envision emerging technology or digital tools becoming a part of your practice?
As an artist, I’ve always embraced technology and though a lot of my practice relies on traditional painting, drawing and sculpture, I’ve always thought that it was important to kind of explore what’s ahead. I think these days, a lot of artists are exploring technology more and more, and you’re seeing a lot of brands explore art more and more — I think there’s a really interesting balance there.
“Art making, for me, has always been uncomfortable, and you just learn how to navigate that intuition.”
Here, we’re seeing Mello in present-day Los Angeles. In the last several years, he has taken on many forms, journeyed across so many places, and most recently, you teased your first bronze sculpture. Where can we expect to see him next?
I don’t necessarily know where I see Mello going next, and that’s what keeps me kind of chasing him. That’s what keeps me in that creative space, and keeps me pursuing the act of making art.
What’s a piece of advice that you wish you received as an early-career or emerging artist?
My advice for my younger self or anyone else that’s interested in making art would be to learn how to become comfortable in an uncomfortable setting. Art making, for me, has always been uncomfortable, and you just learn how to navigate that intuition.
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