Mad Hatters 2017

Mark Kostabi made ‘Mad Hatters’, but when? It's giving me such strong feelings, like it could have been from any time between the 1920s and yesterday. It's a little unsettling, right? Look at those big blocks of color! How much deliberation do you think went into the decision to make one figure red and another blue? I get the sense Kostabi was aiming for an effect that feels timeless and universal. Those faceless figures holding generic gadgets could represent anyone, anywhere. This painting reminds me how artists are constantly riffing off each other, playing with ideas across decades, and maybe even centuries. And painting itself, isn't it just a beautiful, open-ended conversation? There's no single right way to interpret it, and that’s what makes it so darn exciting!