Marco Maggi - Higher Perplexity

Bienvenu Steinberg & C is pleased to present Higher Perplexity, Marco Maggi's 11th solo exhibition in New York. The exhibition will be on view from October 8 through November 14, 2026. Maggi's abstract language favors generic formats and materials. Devoid of any symbolism or signification, his vocabulary refers to the way information is processed in a global yet increasingly myopic era. Composed of linear pathways reminiscent of circuit boards, aerial views, genetic engineering and nervous systems, his drawings and sculptures encode the world and turn abstraction into cultural criticism. "When reality goes too far, we don't know which way to turn Speechless, we open our umbrellas as if opening a set of parentheses When common sense is suspended, we can either normalize the unprecedented Or experience a peak of perplexity Over time, uncertainty becomes a habit, a thrill to enjoy, without a hint of nostalgia for reason Drawing on unusual surfaces allows one to enter a chronic state of profound perplexity This is when perplexity becomes Higher Perplexity For instance, marking the silky smooth side of a roll of Reynolds kitchen foil with a 4H graphite pencil My hand gliding over Yupo paper Slicing a Macintosh apple right down its axis Altering the shell of a ping-pong ball Invading a sheet of Dibond with tiny fragments of acid-free paper Focusing attention on details allows one to resist extraordinary situations without lowering the levels of perplexity they trigger Like crossing a raging river by jumping from one tiny piece of paper to the next" — (Marco Maggi, 2026)