AnnaKustera is pleased to present Los Angeles-based artist Mattia Biagi in his New York solo debut. Biagi’s baroque and highly textural reinterpretations of Earth art involve the use of black tar in order to both preserve and destroy. In his newest work, Biagi comments on geopolitics and the environment by invoking the legend of the phoenix, the mythical bird whose rise from death and ashes suggests the hope of renewal. In this mixed-media installation, Biagi’s biggest and most ambitious to date, a salvaged 1954 Buick sedan - tarred, corroded and sectioned - becomes the fertile bed for a live tree. By juxtaposing the remnants of dead technology versus nature, Biagi creates a sensual and visually arresting experience that projects a life-affirming optimism.