The Daily Heller: I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter

Inspiration

My Butter is Better, the most recent installment of Stefan Sagmeister’s touring art exhibitions, is now on view at Galería Hilario Galguera Madrid through October—and tomorrow, a version takes up residence at the Museo de Arte de Zapopan in Mexico. The show is a selection of more than 20 paintings made from 2022–2025 that combine the artist’s eclectic interest in design and statistics into a series of pieces that “transform quantitative information into aesthetic experience,” says curator Hilario Galguera.

Drawing from sources such as the UN, World Bank, Statista and V-Dem, among other global and national databases, Sagmeister converts numerical data into novel statistical diagrams that communicate relevant comparisons of the world’s most recurring concerns. They telescope a long-term perspective that might be considered “informed optimism.” Data visualizations are embedded into historical paintings, creating a dialogue between inherited images and empirical evidence of progress. “This act of layering does not dismiss the reality of crisis, but offers context: In contrast to a present saturated with pessimism, Sagmeister proposes a lucid and hopeful perspective for a less uncertain world,” Galguera notes.

Below (and above) are photos by Zonacielo Films from the opening reception.

The post The Daily Heller: I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter appeared first on PRINT Magazine.

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