How Mia Scarpa and Grace Horan Made Friendship the Medium
For their new duet show, ‘Kinda True,’ at New York’s Whaam!, the painter and sculptor reflect on where they’ve come since their art school days and what it’s like coming up in contemporary art with your best friend by your side.
Puppies sleeping easy in piles of 100’s, lucky rocks, affirmational text, tattooed bellies, devilish Hello Kitty, joint-slinging gremlins — a similar circus of images swarms the shuffle of paintings and sculptures in Mia Scarpa and Grace Horan’s new duet show, Kinda True. Standing inside the space, it’s hard to imagine the artists anywhere but together.
The two arrived at New York’s Whaam! earlier this summer for their second exhibition together. Airbrush compositions by Scarpa and Horan’s glass lamps fill the room with flashes of humor and play, tenderness and sincerity, surrendering the gallery to their whimsical mix.
One look and it’s clear that the artists are at the edge of something brewing in contemporary art: a new vanguard tuned to the fractures of digital culture, while also harnessing its fun. But beyond the gravity of an entire movement, or any post-post-internet manifesto aside, the show is a tender study of collaboration, or better yet, what’s creatively possible when you put friendship first. Even the title, Kinda True, keeps things loose. It knows not to take itself too seriously.
The artists first met during their time at RISD as undergrads, when Scarpa assisted Horan’s freshman year drawing class. When other students left for the summer, they grew close while working at the metal shop together. “Those are some of my best college memories, for sure,” Scarpa shared alongside a painting inspired by their time in Providence together: two pairs of feet kicked up beside one another against a fire pit.
Don’t friends make the best collaborators? David Welch likens the two, “The Painter, The Sculptor,” to red and blue lenses of 3D glasses: “Once both viewpoints merge, a new depth entirely is created,” he penned in the show notes. “There is magic that happens in this moment of unity.”
On the occasion of Kinda True, the artists let us in on their second bestie go-around, and scaling down collaboration to the space between two people.
Courtesy Of Mia Scarpa And Whaam!
Courtesy Of Mia Scarpa And Whaam!
Courtesy Of Mia Scarpa And Whaam!
Courtesy Of Mia Scarpa And Whaam!
Courtesy Of Mia Scarpa And Whaam!
Courtesy Of Mia Scarpa And Whaam!
Courtesy Of Mia Scarpa And Whaam!
Courtesy Of Mia Scarpa And Whaam!
Courtesy Of Mia Scarpa And Whaam!
Courtesy Of Mia Scarpa And Whaam!
Courtesy Of Mia Scarpa And Whaam!
Courtesy Of Mia Scarpa And Whaam!
Courtesy Of Mia Scarpa And Whaam!
What sparked the idea for this show? How did you land on the title?
Mia Scarpa: We had our first two-person show in Austin in 2024. We realized our work shows well together, so it made the decision to do another pretty easy. The title came from a long list of options, but in the end, we went with Kinda True because it leaves more up to interpretation.
Grace Horan: We also just love working together. The title feels casual and doesn’t take itself too seriously, which feels true to our friendship and the spirit of the show. A lot of the work uses familiar images that don’t have one fixed meaning.
Both in this show and Cool Day, you’ve included works based on rock piles. How are you using this image to connect to tap into themes like nostalgia and memory, as well as each other’s practices?
MS: We were trying to think of themes that would lend well to both work styles, and the rock imagery worked well in 2D and 3D forms. I like that they’re kind of small, cheap collectible items that you usually only see in souvenir or dollar stores. They’re not meant to be precious objects, but because of the words, or if someone gives one to you, they take on a kind of specialness.
GH: We’ve always liked the image of rocks. We’re both interested in generic or mass-produced objects that people end up keeping around and attaching memories to them. Something so simple can end up feeling really personal.
Working together throughout the years, how have you two influenced each other as artists and friends?
GH: Since we’ve been friends for so long, we share a lot of the same interests, always end up sharing references, and are just into the same kinds of things. We’re both really dedicated to the studio and have always supported each other. That has influenced both of us as artists a lot.
MS: Our work has for sure grown together and can definitely be related in certain ways. Spending so much time together, going to school in Providence, are all things that attribute to our work influencing each other.
Courtesy Of Mia Scarpa And Whaam!
Courtesy Of Mia Scarpa And Whaam!
Courtesy Of Mia Scarpa And Whaam!
Courtesy Of Mia Scarpa And Whaam!
Courtesy Of Mia Scarpa And Whaam!
What about this image vocabulary you’re using?
GH: We’re interested in found images and objects that already have associations attached to them, like animals, pets, album covers, skulls, clouds, rainbows, stickers, toys. A lot of it comes from everyday places and objects that aren’t always taken that seriously, which is part of what we like about it.
MS: The imagery I use mostly comes from collecting photos I’ve taken and screenshotting random images here and there. Both of us have a habit of hoarding items and images, so there’s bound to be a lot of overlap in the things we’re drawing from.
What role does friendship, not just collaboration, play within your work?
GH: Friendship shapes a lot of how we think and make things. We both value our friends so much, and a lot of what we make grows out of those relationships.
MS: One of my favorite parts about making work is the friendships I’ve been able to build through it. Making art can sometimes be very isolating, and you spend so much time alone in the studio. The time you get to make things together and build each other up as artists is so valuable. We both treasure that a lot.
Kinda True is now on view in New York through July 3 at Whaam! gallery.
