Vol.3
How I Met with Matt McCormick

My encounter with Matt McCormick began by chance.
On the morning of January 23, 2025, I opened my email to find a message from Doriano Navarra(*).
“We met a few years ago with Romain Brun, the director of the gallery, didn’t we?”
For a moment I couldn’t quite place him. Then I recalled an encounter in front of the Hong Kong Convention Centre, and the memory finally connected to Doriano — the son of Enrico Navarra.
“I’ll be in Tokyo from January 27 to 30. Shall we meet? I would also like to introduce you to an artist.”
That was the essence of his message.

During Enrico’s lifetime, we had worked together on a Basquiat exhibition in Japan and maintained a long relationship through the exchange of works by Warhol and Basquiat. Looking forward to meeting his son, I headed to his place of stay..
What first surprised me upon seeing Doriano again was how young he was. Wondering that Enrico had such a young son, I looked through the stack of books he had brought with him. Among there were catalogues and even shopping bags from recent Keith Haring exhibitions at the Navarra Gallery, whose refined design conveyed deep respect and passion for the artists.
Within this pile was a beautiful box labeled “Matt McCormick.”
Inside were carefully art-directed catalogues, maps, a cloth handkerchief, and other thoughtfully arranged materials. At first glance, I was captivated by the world the artist had created.
I immediately told Doriano that I would very much like to organize an exhibition at my gallery and asked him to introduce us. He agreed without hesitation.
Thus, the following February, I found myself visiting Matt McCormick’s studio in the suburbs of Los Angeles.

Los Angeles at that time of year, coinciding with Frieze Los Angeles, was wrapped in a mild and tranquil climate.
Matt’s studio was located in a warehouse district downtown, and the first thing that caught my eye upon entering was a vast number of garments hanging from racks — so many that it felt almost like a fashion factory.

Alongside running his apparel brand One of These Days, he produces works in the back of the studio based on various concepts surrounding the “American experience.” Beginning with early paintings titled Story Paintings that centered on the cowboy, he later expanded his practice to examine how America sees itself through images such as Marlboro packaging, Coca-Cola cans, and Ford trucks.
Particularly striking were landscapes of Hollywood sunsets that looked like scenes from a film — a series he continues to develop.

Personally drawn to more conceptual works, I was especially intrigued by a large canvas divided into two parts. On one side was an advertising-like image marked “15.95,” placed above a cowboy and stacked tires; the other half consisted of a minimal color-field surface. He explained that this composition sought to evoke America by allowing Andy Warhol and Brice Marden to coexist within a single pictorial space.

Although Matt produces many different types of works, I felt that underlying them all is a complex relationship with America. He loves the country, yet also turns his attention to its flaws, placing at the center of his practice the coexistence of myth and reality — of beauty and destruction.
Through this encounter, it was decided that in March 2026 we would hold a dual presentation: a solo exhibition at Sho+1 alongside a presentation at Art Fair Tokyo.
To introduce Matt McCormick’s work comprehensively across two distinct contexts—the gallery space and the art fair venue—is a significant privilege and a great joy for me.
What began as a chance exchange has taken form as something concrete and fully realized.

(*) Born in 1995, Doriano Navarra now runs Galerie Enrico Navarra, founded in 1989 by his father, Enrico Navarra and Gallery 75 Faubourg in Paris, France.