I’ve long admired artists who use quiet gestures to explore complex truths—and Dave McKenzie does this with grace and depth. He utilizes a wide variety of mediums to consider questions of identity, power, and connection. How do we perform for the world? How do we navigate the blurred lines between public expectation and private experience? How do ordinary gestures carry social weight?

When we invited Dave to work with us at the Aspen Art Museum, his exhibition unfolded not just across the galleries, but over time and throughout town. Inside the museum, his installation of boom boxes, video projections, and sculptural forms made from reclaimed refrigerator boxes created a kind of living archive—a space that echoed with competing voices from world music to political speeches, reflecting on the layered and often contradictory nature of American life. Outside, for Aspen’s Old Fashioned Fourth of July parade, Dave created an inflatable float, a giant, waving self-portrait, continuing his exploration of persona and visibility.

Dave often presents his self. And, while his practice is deeply conceptual, it too is disarmingly accessible. I, for example, own a “Dave” bobblehead. As it keeps me company on my bookshelf I am reminded to think about how we relate to one another, how art circulates in public space, and how we carry history in our bodies. And, as I do so, I know these interactions can be poetic, humorous, or even quietly steadfast. What matters to you right now? How can you share whatever this is with someone else from a place of poeticism, humor, and a quiet strength?

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