





Heavy Handed (Human Kindness)
2022
"Heavy Handed (Human Kindness)" presents a compact yet commanding sculptural object rendered in Cor-ten steel, a material whose slow oxidation produces a richly layered rust patina that shifts in tone depending on light and environment. Measuring just over 61 centimeters in height, the work operates at an intimate scale that rewards close attention, inviting the viewer to consider the tension embedded in its title: the phrase "human kindness" softened and complicated by the qualifier "heavy handed," suggesting that benevolence and force are rarely cleanly separable. Mabry works consistently at the intersection of anthropological inquiry and visual culture, drawing on the symbolic residue of ritual objects, art historical forms, and the loaded language of gesture. The industrial warmth of weathering steel gives the piece a sense of temporal depth, as though it has already passed through cycles of exposure and change before arriving in the collector's hands. Produced in a tightly limited edition of four and signed by the artist, the work is accompanied by a purpose-built pedestal that facilitates freestanding display, making it adaptable to a range of domestic and institutional environments. Mabry's sculptures have entered the permanent collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Dallas Museum of Art, and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, among many others, and his critical reception spans publications including Artforum, Frieze, and The New York Times. Offered through the Venice Art Walk Benefit Auction, this is a rare opportunity to acquire a recent work by an artist whose practice has earned sustained institutional recognition across two decades. The piece ships from Los Angeles, with shipping costs the responsibility of the acquiring collector.
- Medium
- Cor-ten steel
- Overall
- Signed
- Yes
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