Crossroad by Max Zorn: a woman in a red dress beside a lit riverboat, with palms, a man and suitcases along the waterfront.
Crossroad — the complete original tape-art composition.View full size

Original tape art by Max Zorn · 2023

Crossroad

A woman in a red dress sits beside the water, turned slightly away from the illuminated riverboat behind her. At the other edge of the scene, a man approaches a group of suitcases. In Crossroad, Max Zorn gives the glamour of a departure the intimacy of a portrait, cut by hand from packing tape.

Artist
Max Zorn
Year
2023
Medium
Hand-cut packing tape on acrylic glass
Size
120 × 80 cm (width × height)
Format
Original tape art in an illuminated frame

Between the portrait and the departure

Her face is the still point of a busy waterfront. The curve of the red dress draws the eye down towards the water; palm trunks and rows of lamps lead away along the promenade. Behind her, the white decks and railings of the passenger boat make a second architecture of light.

The luggage and the man at the left suggest a journey without settling whose journey it is. That slight distance between the figures gives the picture its tension. Evening clothes, travel and the light of the quay recall the world of classic cinema, while the relationships remain open.

In the studio

A face made from layers

The process photograph catches Max working close to the woman's mouth, a scalpel in one hand and a strip of tape in the other. Highlights are left comparatively open; overlapping amber and brown shapes build the cheek, hair and shadow. Red tape carries colour from her lips into the dress.

Max Zorn uses a scalpel and a strip of tape to build the woman's face in Crossroad.
Max at work on the portrait in Crossroad.
Close portrait detail from Crossroad, with red lips, swept-up hair and overlapping amber tape shapes on the woman's face.
The portrait at close range: cut edges, red lips and layers of amber tape.
See more details of the artwork
The woman in Crossroad beside the illuminated upper decks and railings of the riverboat.
The portrait and the boat's decks share the same cut-and-layered material.
A man and stacked suitcases on the lamp-lit waterfront in Crossroad, with the edge of a red dress at the right.
A second story at the edge of the composition: the man and the luggage.

The making-of film

The Caribbean Nights collection

Watch the Caribbean Nights collection film for the making of Crossroad alongside other works from the 2023 release. The close-ups here make it possible to compare a small cut with its place in the complete scene.

Watch Caribbean Nights – The new Tape Art Collection by Max Zorn on YouTube

An illuminated portrait in the room

The black frame holds the complete waterfront scene, with light passing through the hand-built image. A room photograph shows its proportions above a sofa; the portrait detail offers a closer view of its layered construction.

Crossroad illuminated in a black frame above a cream sofa, with plants and a hanging lamp.
Crossroad in its illuminated frame, shown within an interior.

Art for interiors and commissionsIlluminated frames and care

Collecting Max Zorn

A reference for what draws you in

The portrait, the red dress or the promise of travel may be the first attraction. Send Crossroad to Audrey and the team when discussing an artwork or a commission, or explore Caribbean Nights for another kind of suspense on a tropical waterfront.

Crossroad premiered and sold out at SCOPE Miami Beach during Miami Art Week.

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Artwork record and original release

The sold-out Special Sale 2023 lists this composition as Crossroad, at 120 × 80 cm, in brown and coloured packing tape, with an LED-lit black wooden frame. It was released as ten Similar Originals, each made individually by hand.

Special Sale 2023 archive