Leaving
2026
Mixed-media assemblage

Leaving originated as a diorama-style piece intended to sit on a wooden wall shelf.

A painting by the artist’s uncle served as the backdrop. It depicts a road beneath a sign reading “Leaving Colorful Colorado.” In front of it stand two 3D-printed figures originally made as a cake topper for the artist’s previous relationship. Repositioned here, the figures face the road and the act of leaving ahead of them.

The work changed when the original frame wire from Mother’s Last Show snapped, sending its glass to the floor and breaking it.

Rather than discard the glass, the artist kept the shards and incorporated them into Leaving, carefully arranging and stacking them three layers deep across the painting. An accident involving one completed work became material for another.

Rimowa alphabet stickers were later added to spell:

The End !

The phrase borrows from the endings of Looney Tunes cartoons while also referring directly to the end of the relationship represented by the two figures.

The painting carries its own earlier history: the artist’s uncle was with him when, at thirteen, he purchased his first work of art.

Leaving has therefore been salvaged and re-formed multiple times as its materials, histories, and circumstances have changed.