Duality

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Zöe Buckman, the flowers that write me back
2021 | boxing gloves, vintage linen, chain
NFS
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I first found out about Zöe Buckman through my friend Kate Bryan, the Chief Art Director at Soho House.

Like most of the artists and art contacts I've made over the years, Kate and I first connected through social media. She's a fitness enthusiast and somehow stumbled upon my YouTube workouts during my "fitfluencer" days — long before I ever had a passion for art. Unbeknownst to both of us, years later we'd be enjoying cocktails together, discussing all things art & fitness.

Over drinks in Los Angeles, she said, "I think you'd really love this artist," and showed me a picture of Zöe's work. At that point, I didn't know anything about Ms. Buckman, but I was drawn to the work because it was both aesthetically pleasing and a nod to my career in fitness.

A month later, I was at my first Art Basel in Miami. As I wandered through the convention center, I stumbled upon Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, where I saw “the flowers that write me back” elegantly showcased at their booth. The piece had so much depth, detail and dimension— it was absolutely stunning in person. Long story short, I made my first Art Basel purchase that weekend.

Serendipitously, this piece is headed back to Miami for an upcoming exhibition at the Lowe Art Museum.

I love this work for many reasons — some of which I've already mentioned — but the main reason it holds such a special place in my heart is because of what it represents: duality.

You have boxing gloves, which inherently reference fitness and sport, typically representing intensity, masculinity, and aggression. Zöe takes these gloves and covers them in beautiful vintage fabrics, offering a variety of colors and patterns more commonly associated with femininity. Then there's the installation: individually hung yet tightly grouped together, suspended and hanging but supported — it provokes this feeling of being at odds with one another, yearning to stand out, wanting to climb to the top, yet being intrinsically tied together and in support of each other.

There are obvious parallels to how this reflects society, but for me personally, it has special meaning because I also see it as the contrast between my former career (fitness) and my current passion (art). Without fitness, I wouldn't have art, and without art, I would only have fitness.

Every time I look at the piece, it feels like a full-circle moment — even more so now that the piece is headed back to Miami for the Lowe Art Museum's upcoming exhibition, "She's a Knockout: Sport, Gender, and the Body in Contemporary Art."