An artist walks into a fourth-wavecoffee shop and asks for the usual. One person’s usual is another person’s surprise. There’s a storm brewing outside and the barista brings up the weather. This isn’t the artist’s place of work, but it’s becoming work for them. The artist is discussing the real world,not the conceptual world.What is the proper response? Is there a proper response?
What wouldhappen if the artist in the café line overheard someone say their taste in music was eclectic and they chose to intervene? How wouldthey intervene? Would they ask the stranger for some clarification or an explanation? Or wouldthey sink or slink, like most individualsin their positions? What wouldthe artist learn? What would the alleged audiophilediscover?
What might happen if the artist made friends withthe alleged audiophileand invited them to attend said artist’s upcoming art opening? What could a person expect from the included artworks? What might they be looking for when considering the totalityof the collective artworks? Maybe they wouldexpect them to sound like their favorite eclectic playlist.
A separate artist wanders about the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, wonderingif they’ll eventually, potentiallybe marooned somewhere untilthey perish. Every great artist I know thinks about their mortalityand their legacy. Do you not question yours?
Footprints can be mile markers of and for your existence. Is that not poetic enough for you? Every step forwardis a step toward the rest of your new life. No, seriously—call a Buddhist; they’llprobably say the same thing to you, phrased in a way you can’t understand. I mean every wordI’msaying. And we cannot excuse miscommunication in the midst of such disinformation.
We have hope, we have faith, we have trust, we have acceptance. An artist must accept (and subvert) most everything in order to achieve the maximum desired effect. The viewer ought to suspend most of their subjective desires and preferences in order to receive the artist’s general objectives, as impossible as that might seem.
Art is a relationship unlike any other. There is an invisible contract signed by all serious participants. You’re either in or you’re out, and that’s that. Once you pick up the pen, that’s the end; there’s no turningback.
– Keith J. Varadi, March 2026
Gus Thompson, Looking for Emoji, 2026, exhibition view, Gene’s Dispensary, Los AngelesGus Thompson, Looking for Emoji, 2026, exhibition view, Gene’s Dispensary, Los AngelesGus Thompson, Looking for Emoji, 2026, exhibition view, Gene’s Dispensary, Los AngelesGus Thompson, Looking for Emoji, 2026, exhibition view, Gene’s Dispensary, Los AngelesGus Thompson, Looking for Emoji, 2026, exhibition view, Gene’s Dispensary, Los AngelesGus Thompson, Looking for Emoji, 2026, exhibition view, Gene’s Dispensary, Los AngelesGus Thompson, Looking for Emoji, 2026, exhibition view, Gene’s Dispensary, Los AngelesAndy Meerow, Mull, Various pigments, spray paint, paper, and polymer medium on canvas, 48 x 48 inches, 2026Andy Meerow, Filter, Various pigments, coffee, spray paint, paper, and polymer medium on canvas, 48 x 48 inches, 2026Gus Thompson, Looking for Emoji, 2026, exhibition view, Gene’s Dispensary, Los AngelesGus Thompson, Looking for Emoji, 2026, exhibition view, Gene’s Dispensary, Los AngelesGus Thompson, Looking for Emoji, 2026, exhibition view, Gene’s Dispensary, Los AngelesGus Thompson, Looking for Emoji, 2026, exhibition view, Gene’s Dispensary, Los AngelesGus Thompson, Looking for Emoji, 2026, exhibition view, Gene’s Dispensary, Los AngelesGus Thompson, Looking for Emoji, 2026, exhibition view, Gene’s Dispensary, Los AngelesAndy Meerow, Wedge, Acrylic, screenprint, paper, and polymer medium on canvas, 36 x 36 inches, 2026Andy Meerow, Nest, Screenprint, coffee, paper, and polymer medium on canvas, 31 x 32 inches, 2026Gus Thompson, Sculpturalismo II, Dansk aluminum bowl, barnacle, aluminum cast, found plates, steel pellets, plaster, oil, enamel, epoxy, and resin, 13.5 x 13.5 x 3.75 inches, 2022-2026Gus Thompson, The paradigm that table built, Wood, MDF, paper, canvas board, inkjet prints, LaserJet prints, aluminum, cardboard, barnacles, linen, found plate, oil, acrylic, cloth lamp shade, foam core, glue, hardware, wood putty, and plastic stools, dimensions variable, 2017-2026Gus Thompson, The paradigm that table built, Wood, MDF, paper, canvas board, inkjet prints, LaserJet prints, aluminum, cardboard, barnacles, linen, found plate, oil, acrylic, cloth lamp shade, foam core, glue, hardware, wood putty, and plastic stools, dimensions variable, 2017-2026Gus Thompson, The paradigm that table built, Wood, MDF, paper, canvas board, inkjet prints, LaserJet prints, aluminum, cardboard, barnacles, linen, found plate, oil, acrylic, cloth lamp shade, foam core, glue, hardware, wood putty, and plastic stools, dimensions variable, 2017-2026Gus Thompson, The paradigm that table built, Wood, MDF, paper, canvas board, inkjet prints, LaserJet prints, aluminum, cardboard, barnacles, linen, found plate, oil, acrylic, cloth lamp shade, foam core, glue, hardware, wood putty, and plastic stools, dimensions variable, 2017-2026Gus Thompson, The paradigm that table built, Wood, MDF, paper, canvas board, inkjet prints, LaserJet prints, aluminum, cardboard, barnacles, linen, found plate, oil, acrylic, cloth lamp shade, foam core, glue, hardware, wood putty, and plastic stools, dimensions variable, 2017-2026Gus Thompson, The paradigm that table built, Wood, MDF, paper, canvas board, inkjet prints, LaserJet prints, aluminum, cardboard, barnacles, linen, found plate, oil, acrylic, cloth lamp shade, foam core, glue, hardware, wood putty, and plastic stools, dimensions variable, 2017-2026Gus Thompson, The paradigm that table built, Wood, MDF, paper, canvas board, inkjet prints, LaserJet prints, aluminum, cardboard, barnacles, linen, found plate, oil, acrylic, cloth lamp shade, foam core, glue, hardware, wood putty, and plastic stools, dimensions variable, 2017-2026Gus Thompson, The paradigm that table built, Wood, MDF, paper, canvas board, inkjet prints, LaserJet prints, aluminum, cardboard, barnacles, linen, found plate, oil, acrylic, cloth lamp shade, foam core, glue, hardware, wood putty, and plastic stools, dimensions variable, 2017-2026Gus Thompson, Sculpturalismo I, Plaster, oil, sand, aluminum cast, marbles, linen, hardware, epoxy, and resin, 11 x 13.5 x 7 inches, 2017-2026Gus Thompson, Sculpturalismo I, Plaster, oil, sand, aluminum cast, marbles, linen, hardware, epoxy, and resin, 11 x 13.5 x 7 inches, 2017-2026Gus Thompson, Sculpturalismo I, Plaster, oil, sand, aluminum cast, marbles, linen, hardware, epoxy, and resin, 11 x 13.5 x 7 inches, 2017-2026Gus Thompson, The paradigm that table built, Wood, MDF, paper, canvas board, inkjet prints, LaserJet prints, aluminum, cardboard, barnacles, linen, found plate, oil, acrylic, cloth lamp shade, foam core, glue, hardware, wood putty, and plastic stools, dimensions variable, 2017-2026Gus Thompson, The paradigm that table built, Wood, MDF, paper, canvas board, inkjet prints, LaserJet prints, aluminum, cardboard, barnacles, linen, found plate, oil, acrylic, cloth lamp shade, foam core, glue, hardware, wood putty, and plastic stools, dimensions variable, 2017-2026Gus Thompson, The paradigm that table built, Wood, MDF, paper, canvas board, inkjet prints, LaserJet prints, aluminum, cardboard, barnacles, linen, found plate, oil, acrylic, cloth lamp shade, foam core, glue, hardware, wood putty, and plastic stools, dimensions variable, 2017-2026Gus Thompson, The paradigm that table built, Wood, MDF, paper, canvas board, inkjet prints, LaserJet prints, aluminum, cardboard, barnacles, linen, found plate, oil, acrylic, cloth lamp shade, foam core, glue, hardware, wood putty, and plastic stools, dimensions variable, 2017-2026Gus Thompson, The paradigm that table built, Wood, MDF, paper, canvas board, inkjet prints, LaserJet prints, aluminum, cardboard, barnacles, linen, found plate, oil, acrylic, cloth lamp shade, foam core, glue, hardware, wood putty, and plastic stools, dimensions variable, 2017-2026Gus Thompson, The paradigm that table built, Wood, MDF, paper, canvas board, inkjet prints, LaserJet prints, aluminum, cardboard, barnacles, linen, found plate, oil, acrylic, cloth lamp shade, foam core, glue, hardware, wood putty, and plastic stools, dimensions variable, 2017-2026Gus Thompson, The paradigm that table built, Wood, MDF, paper, canvas board, inkjet prints, LaserJet prints, aluminum, cardboard, barnacles, linen, found plate, oil, acrylic, cloth lamp shade, foam core, glue, hardware, wood putty, and plastic stools, dimensions variable, 2017-2026Gus Thompson, The paradigm that table built, Wood, MDF, paper, canvas board, inkjet prints, LaserJet prints, aluminum, cardboard, barnacles, linen, found plate, oil, acrylic, cloth lamp shade, foam core, glue, hardware, wood putty, and plastic stools, dimensions variable, 2017-2026Gus Thompson, The paradigm that table built, Wood, MDF, paper, canvas board, inkjet prints, LaserJet prints, aluminum, cardboard, barnacles, linen, found plate, oil, acrylic, cloth lamp shade, foam core, glue, hardware, wood putty, and plastic stools, dimensions variable, 2017-2026Gus Thompson, The paradigm that table built, Wood, MDF, paper, canvas board, inkjet prints, LaserJet prints, aluminum, cardboard, barnacles, linen, found plate, oil, acrylic, cloth lamp shade, foam core, glue, hardware, wood putty, and plastic stools, dimensions variable, 2017-2026Gus Thompson, Looking for Emoji, 2026, exhibition view, Gene’s Dispensary, Los AngelesGus Thompson, Looking for Emoji, 2026, exhibition view, Gene’s Dispensary, Los AngelesGus Thompson, Looking for Emoji, 2026, exhibition view, Gene’s Dispensary, Los AngelesGus Thompson, Looking for Emoji, 2026, exhibition view, Gene’s Dispensary, Los AngelesGus Thompson, Looking for Emoji, 2026, exhibition view, Gene’s Dispensary, Los AngelesGus Thompson, Looking for Emoji, 2026, exhibition view, Gene’s Dispensary, Los AngelesGus Thompson, Looking for Emoji, 2026, exhibition view, Gene’s Dispensary, Los AngelesGus Thompson, Looking for Emoji, 2026, exhibition view, Gene’s Dispensary, Los Angeles
