Jill Magid’s neon sculpture of a rose depicts the mathematical formula of a growth model called the Richards Function, specially devised to maximize the stem length of the flower. In the business of flowers, stem length corresponds to potential value for growers and sellers, with an increase in flower height leading to an increase in monetary value. Magid exhibits her proof through neon flowers that stand at the same height that the formula would ideally generate. In doing so, her work visualizes the overlapping interests of beauty, science, and commerce, and the role that prediction and visualization play in the circulation of value. Magid’s neon sculptures were on view earlier this year at The Warehouse, Dallas, in the exhibition For What It’s Worth: Value Systems in Art since 1960. Solo exhibitions of Magid’s work have taken place at institutions around the world, including the Modern Art Museum, Fort Worth; The Renaissance Society, Chicago; Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo (MUAC), Mexico City; Tate Modern, London; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Berkeley Museum of Art; Tate Liverpool; and the Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam. Her work is included the collections of the Centre Pompidou, Paris; CNAP, Paris; The Guggenheim Museum, New York; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Fundacion Jumex, Mexico City; the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; and the United States Mint, among others.
