Memento Mori

Memento Mori

March 18th - April 17, 2021

Remember, you have to die. This literal translation of memento mori manifests in art as skulls on Dutch still-life painters’ desks, haunting next to glittering treasures of the Golden Age. In art history, death might also have been symbolized by a flower or an apple -- an organic object that could not survive in its bountiful state without being painted.

What is art-making if not grappling with death? An attempt at legacy and posterity while understanding life’s ephemeral and fraught adventures?

In Memento Mori, opening on March 18th at Sugarlift and the High Line Nine at 508 W 28th Street, New York, NY, 32 artists take on the memento mori genre: an expression of death, but also a reminder to enjoy life. The amalgamation of so many incredibly talented artists will provide depth, perspective, and breadth to the genre, and flood the viewer with different renditions of the theme of memento mori. Each artist approaches the idea of death with nuance, and exploring these heady themes through collectible art grants us the beauty we crave in this life, while also providing us with a souvenir of what’s inevitably to come.