It's not everyday that you are granted the opportunity to spend 4 months in Europe to study, live, and breathe topiary gardens. This exciting opportunity happened for Mark Zlotsky in 2018 through the New York Center for Architecture, and much of his artistic interests are derived from his formative experiences during that time. “Tarrying with Topiary”, Mark Zlotsky’s latest piece with Async Art, illustrates his adventure meandering through gardens and invites the audience to join him.
If one could describe Mark’s artistic personality using two words, it would be playful and explorative. The playfulness lies in the light-hearted and joyous tone of his work, encouraging the audience to be a bit silly with him. His thoughtful subversion of a medium or subject defines his exploration. "Tarrying with Topiary" is a combination of hand-drawn topiary and dozens of unique characters wrapped into a programmable art token on the Async Platform.
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"Tarrying with Topiary" illustrates a humble garden with three topiary sculptures populated by dozens of unique visitors. When the gates to the garden first open, it will be empty. As collectors begin purchasing visitors, the field will become busier and busier with cheerful guests. Each guest has a name and a story - they’re just as much an individual as you are. The collector has the agency to decide where they want to congregate - maybe here, perhaps there. Mark intends to shift the collector’s relationship with the artwork from ‘I own that’ to ‘Hey, that’s me!’
With over 58 unique layers, "Tarrying with Topiary" is yet another brilliant example of how Layer owners become an embedded community within the artwork itself, reacting and interacting with each other over time. This makes the Master owner experience continuous exciting small changes.
Deri never knows which way to look, even with all five heads.
The artwork contains three distinct Layer categories: curious characters, towering topiary, and a tone-setting background. 52 unique characters are named and have distinct personalities that are written within their description. Characters can be moved across the artwork to congregate in groups, observe topiary, or just be on their own. The prominent topiary sculptures can be trimmed into different figures. The background layer can change colors, shifting the tone from a bright yellow morning to a somber blue night.
"Tarrying With Topiary" launches with an exciting new Async Art feature: unminted layers. This means that the piece will unlock more characters when all of the minted Layers have been purchased. This new feature encourages communities to gain access to never-before-seen Layers by purchasing the ones presently available.
“Tarrying With Topiary” is Mark Zlotsky’s second Async Art (his first piece is here) and the artist has already talked about creating more in the future. The artwork Master was already bought for 2.2 ETH ($3K+) earlier this week. Stay tuned to our Discord and Twitter for raffles of some extra-special figures!
Please follow Mark Zlotsky on Instagram and Twitter.
