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M+, Hong Kong, © Estate of Antonio Mak
Plaster Staircase 石膏階梯
1972
Plaster staircase is part of a body of works Antonio Mak began in the 1960s, which is comprised of ink and graphite drawings, mixed-media collages, etchings, and sculptures. Featuring motifs of horses, trees, books, ladders, steps, and chairs, these works are often inspired by the art and theories of Marcel Duchamp and by M. C. Escher’s fantastical perspectives and tessellations. Deceptively simple and sometimes nonsensical, Mak’s arrangements of figures, objects, and animals use visual puns and unusual juxtapositions to probe existential questions. This sculpture is one of several works which depict a spiral staircase. Here, the staircase is made of a set of loosely stacked plinths. The density of the monochromatic blocks and their chipped edges recall classical Greek and Roman architecture. Throughout his career, Mak used the staircase as an analogy for life’s cycles, and created several variations of this sculpture in wood, lead, glass, and other materials.
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