In My Father’s House Are Many Mansions, #4,392 1985

Howard Finster made this art box, "In My Father’s House Are Many Mansions, #4,392" from found materials, and it's less about careful brushstrokes and more about intuitive placement. The whole thing has this otherworldly glow, right? It's all about layering and building up a surface that feels both chaotic and deeply spiritual. The texture of this piece isn't smooth like a painting; instead, it's tactile. There's a dreamy depth, with the light passing through different planes. See how Finster used text as image? It's as if he’s building his own world, one layer at a time. Look at how he added these tiny beads or little plastic trinkets, they shimmer and catch the light, making the whole piece feel alive. Finster's work is like folk art's answer to Rauschenberg's combines, and I think it speaks to art's unique ability to make meaning from anything, embracing the kind of beautiful ambiguity that makes you want to keep looking, forever finding something new.