The art of possessing (and giving)

 

Perhaps the wonder of living lies in finding, collectively and individually, imaginative ways to (re)enchant our lives through desire. Satisfying this wishing, wanting, longing and craving can take many paths.

 

For some of us, possessing certain things is a form of happiness. The belongings we acquire and decide to keep—the family heirlooms, the forgotten vase on the bookcase, the painting in the kitchen, the dinner receipt at the bottom of a bag, the book we’ll never read, the laptop sticker that pretends to be funny—are the verifiable map of our diverse identities, the concrete forms that remind us where we come from, how we experience the world and who we are through time and change.

 

If our possessions are timeless, we’ll feel no great need to upgrade them. If they’re meaningful, we’ll want to keep them longer. If we enjoy having them, we’ll take better care of them. In this way, the cure for consumerism is not to be less concerned about our material things, but more so – thoughtfully choosing things that are able to accompany us through life and that inspire us to better appreciate them.

 

Of all our belongings, art is singular in that our interaction with it is deeper, providing more than comfort or the fulfillment of a practical purpose, the way a neatly manicured lawn or a piece of furniture or a gadget does. Art taps into that which is most alive in us, connecting our desire for transcendence to our everyday, and the craving for ever deeper meaning. Good Things Come is a commitment to the longing for that vitality. A drive for accessing the intangible through the creative visions embodied in concrete works of art. A belief in art as a source of life beyond the mundane, a life to be not just lived but continuously re-created, re-interpreted and better understood. 

 

Good Things Come is also a place: 47 Orchard Street. A place to visit and discover, among other things, the archaeology of our desire and the possibility of sharing it with those we love and cherish the most. In this way, art is a gift to possess and one to give.