Kenyan, b. 1972
The Glider, 2021
Soil, charcoal, paper pulp, wood glue, charcoal, ink, wood, gourd, shell, and brass beads
28 1/8 in. x 29 1/2 in. x 9 ft. 1 1/2 in. (71.4 x 74.9 x 278.1 cm)
Courtesy of the artist and Gladstone Gallery
Photo by David Regen
The Glider is a sculpture imbued with a sense of movement and mythos. The curve of its body is taut, as though pushing through water. Mutu’s embrace of motion in this figure and others is analogous to her belief in our shared potential for personal and societal change and growth. Water is a source of life and spirituality within Mutu’s worldview. As the artist has said, “I think the sea is the portal from which all living beings first arrived. It is the book from which we were all written; the origination story prior to all others.”