Similar Originals
One composition. Made again by hand.
What is a Similar Original?
Similar Original is Max Zorn’s term for an individually handmade original artwork based on a composition he may create a limited number of times.
Every Similar Original is made again by Max from packing tape on acrylic glass. The tape is cut and layered individually, the finished artwork is signed, and small differences appear naturally from one work to another.
They share a composition. They are separate physical artworks.
Nothing is printed or mechanically reproduced.
Why make a composition more than once?
A new composition can take weeks or months to develop. Long before the first finished artwork exists, Max may be collecting references, rebuilding architecture, moving figures, changing the light and discarding versions that do not work.
If all of that development could result in only one physical artwork, that single piece would have to carry the cost of the entire process. Its price would have to be substantially higher.
Creating a limited number of Similar Originals allows Max to spend far more time developing a composition while keeping the finished artworks within a price range accessible to a broader group of collectors.
It also means that a composition does not disappear after the first collector acquires it.
The number remains finite. Each composition has a stated maximum.
Maraluna Beach
Limited series of 25 Similar Originals
Twenty-five is the maximum number Max may create from that composition. It is not a print run.
Same composition. Different artwork.
The composition remains very close, while handmade details shift: the density of a shadow, the edge of a figure, a reflection or the overlap of individual layers of tape.
These variations are not added artificially to make the works appear different. They are a consequence of constructing the complete artwork again.
A useful comparison is a piece of music performed more than once. The composition holds the work together; each performance is made anew.
Why limit the number?
Some motifs become important parts of Max’s body of work and attract more collectors than a single artwork could accommodate. A declared maximum allows several collectors to acquire an original based on that composition without allowing the series to expand indefinitely.
Different compositions may have different limits. Once the stated maximum has been reached, no further Similar Originals from that composition are created.
Exhibitions, provenance and auctions
Every Similar Original is a separate physical artwork and can acquire its own history.
One may enter a private collection. Another may be shown at an art fair or museum. Another may later appear on the secondary market.
When the precise physical artwork is known, its individual provenance can be recorded.
When a historical source identifies the composition but not the particular physical example, MaxZorn.com describes the relationship without pretending to know more than the record establishes.
An original from the Maraluna Beach series was exhibited at SCOPE Miami Beach in 2025.
The same principle applies to auction records and other exhibitions. This preserves the history of the composition without combining the histories of separate physical artworks.
What does “sold out” mean?
It means that no original from that composition is currently being offered directly by Max Zorn or Stick Together.
The composition remains part of Max’s permanent catalogue. Sold works document the development of his art, exhibition history, collector demand and secondary-market record.
On occasion, an artwork reserved for an exhibition, museum presentation or another commitment may become available later. New compositions with related subjects or atmosphere are also released over time.
Questions
Is a Similar Original an edition?
It only shares one characteristic with an edition: the total number is limited in advance.
The creation method is completely different. Editions commonly involve prints, photographs, casts or other repeatable methods of producing several examples. A Similar Original is physically constructed again by Max from packing tape on acrylic glass each time.
That difference is why Max uses the term Similar Original.
Are Similar Originals prints or reproductions?
No. There is no printed image beneath the tape, no transferred finished image and no mechanical duplication of the artwork.
Each piece is built again from packing tape on acrylic glass, cut and layered by Max and individually signed.
Are two Similar Originals identical?
No. They share the same composition, but differences arise naturally through the cutting, layering and placement of the tape.
From normal viewing distance they clearly belong to the same composition. At closer range, each has its own handmade variations.
How can Max make each Similar Original so close to the composition?
After more than fifteen years working with packing tape, Max knows the material almost as a measuring system.
A strip is roughly 5 cm / 2 inches wide, so the first layers form a faint grid he can read while working. A figure may begin five and a half strips from one edge; a window, horizon or other fixed point gives him another reference.
Straight tape edges naturally guide architecture. Once a key point is established, Max can build outward from it through the composition, using the width and direction of the tape much like a ruler.
This allows remarkable consistency without tracing, printing or mechanically reproducing the image. The physical logic of the tape itself helps Max return to the same composition by hand.
Is every Similar Original made by Max Zorn?
Yes. Each Similar Original is made again by Max from packing tape on acrylic glass and individually signed.
Why does Max repeat selected compositions?
Much of the work happens before the first finished artwork is made. Developing a composition can require weeks or months of research and revision.
Returning to selected compositions lets Max devote more time to developing each image without forcing the entire cost of that development into a single artwork. It also allows more than one collector to acquire an original while the declared series limit keeps the composition finite.
Is the number of Similar Originals fixed?
Yes. Each composition has a declared maximum number of Similar Originals.
Once that maximum has been reached, no further Similar Originals from that composition are created.
Does each Similar Original have its own provenance?
Yes. Each is a separate physical artwork and may have its own ownership, exhibition and auction history.
When an older record establishes the composition but not the exact physical example, MaxZorn.com states that an original from the series was involved rather than attributing several histories to one object.
Can a sold-out composition ever become available again?
Sometimes. A work that has been held for an exhibition, museum presentation or another commitment may later return and become available.
A sold-out status therefore describes current direct availability; it does not remove the composition from Max’s catalogue or prevent related opportunities from appearing later.
Interested in a sold-out composition?
If a particular work speaks to you, tell us which one, best via email to buy@maxzorn.com
We can send you a small selection of related Max Zorn works and keep your preference in mind if your favorite artwork, or a closely related original becomes available.
Registering interest does not guarantee availability or acquisition.