Notes From An Art Handler
One of the best parts of working with a team involved in every stage of the art process is watching how each person develops their own way of seeing. Advisors, registrars, handlers - we’re all engaging with the same works, but from very different angles. Over time, those perspectives sharpen in ways that are hard to teach and impossible to fake.
For Daniel Roberts, our lead art handler, that perspective comes from proximity - and from practice. Beyond his role on our team, Daniel is an artist himself, having spent several years working in the studio of renowned sculptor Mark di Suvero. That experience gives him a particularly sharp eye for material, process, and intention. He spends his days unpacking, lifting, installing, adjusting, and problem-solving around artworks - seeing them up close, often before anyone else does, and sometimes in conditions that reveal things a gallery setting never would. It’s a way of looking grounded in material reality: surface, weight, balance, finish, and how a work behaves once it’s out in the world.
Lately, Daniel’s attention has been drawn to works that take material seriously - pieces where surface isn’t just aesthetic, but intentional; where craft, scale, and presence are impossible to ignore. His recent picks span galleries, public spaces, and personal memory, offering a refreshingly honest take on what sticks with you when you work with art every day.
We asked Daniel what’s been on his radar lately - the exhibitions worth sitting with and artists to keep an eye on. Lucky for you, we’re sharing them here.
Heather McGill “A Moments Ornament” at Ellen Miller Gallery
SoWA Boston
If you’re in SoWa you have to go see Ellen Miller Gallery and ask politely to view the Heather McGill’s still on display in the back room. The surface of the paintings, made from meticulous sanded layers of high end automotive paint, is stunning.
Jeff Koons “Porcelain Series” at Gagosian
New York, NY
Love him or hate him, you can’t deny the mirrored stainless steel sculptural works are immaculate. The best show I’ve seen so far this year, and not because I agree with Koons’ narrative. Almost as ridiculous as entering a house of mirrors in a carnival, the sculptural work undulates in polychromed hues with their mirrored surface drawing you into being part of the subject matter. What are these sculptures depicting? Does it even matter? As you walk around the works you feel almost intoxicated. Although I’m normally a hater, I’m sold on this one.
Deborah Butterfield “Henry and Paint”
Copley Square Boston
Famous for her driftwood horses, Butterfield is another artist I used to dismiss because her focus was so narrow, but over the years I’ve grown to love finding her public sculptures. When I first saw these pieces in Copley Square just across from Back Bay station they made me deeply sad. We live in a city that is largely absent of contemporary public sculpture, and what we have seems like its fallen into disrepair. These pieces feel like they need love. Public sculpture serves a great placemaking role, defining neighborhoods and positively influencing the life of a city. I wonder why a great city like Boston has so few contemporary works.
Lee Kelly “Memory 99”
Portland, Oregon
A personal favorite of mine, on New Year’s Eve I was lucky to spend time with a sculpture I have long loved. Lee Kelly’s Memory 99 is a public sculpture that truly feels like Portland, dirty, but beautiful, rough around the edges but fresh and alive. I grew up in Oregon and have been surrounded by Lee Kelly’s work my whole life. Stunning, moody and dramatic these outdoor sculptures shine as easily in the rain as the in sun. He recently passed away and his sales prices have shockingly dropped. My hot take: his work is a major buying opportunity right now.
Two artists I follow who are having amazing international shows:
Both of these artists I have been paying attention to for some time, and these are next level shows. The work is fresh, alive, smart and deeply contemplative. If I could afford them, this is what I would live with.
