Checking In with the Girls Upstairs 

Mark Kostabi created this painting, "Checking In with the Girls Upstairs," in 2021. Kostabi emerged in the 1980s in New York’s East Village, amidst a vibrant art scene grappling with consumerism and mass media. Here, Kostabi presents a genderless, winged figure holding a smartphone, a modern angel, perhaps. The city glows behind the figure, but rendered in an almost cartoon-like fashion. What does it mean to have wings and still rely on a smartphone? Perhaps Kostabi is gesturing towards how technology mediates our relationships, even with those we imagine as divine or otherworldly. Kostabi's works often explore themes of alienation and communication in the contemporary world, and this painting is no different. This piece prompts reflection on how we seek connection and meaning in a world increasingly mediated by screens, while maybe losing touch with the poetic.