In Honor of 4/20, Here Is a Selection of Artworks You Will Really Enjoy Looking at If You Are High, We Have Heard Second-Hand

We asked around and here's what people said.

Joos van Craesbeeck's hazy painting The Smoker (ca. 1635) is thought to be a self portrait.

On March 31, 2021, embattled governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation legalizing recreational cannabis use, making New York the 15th state to take the momentous step toward mainstream marijuana consumption. It’s no secret in the art world that partaking in pot-smoking is not only a recreational activity, but a legitimate commercial past time. Richard Prince launched his own line of bud in 2019 called “Katz & Dogg,” and a sneaky art gallery in Washington DC managed to thwart local laws by gifting gallery-goers weed with every artwork purchase (it should be noted that the paintings were made by a four-year-old Alaskan Klee Kai dog named Sudo).

Now that it’s 4/20, the international day for spliff-smoking, we asked our sources to suggest some of the trippiest, weirdest, and most mind-bending art to enjoy on this most sacred of holidays. Here were the top suggestions. Enjoy. ✌️

 

Pipilotti Rist, Sip My Ocean 1996

Pipilotti Rist, Sip My Ocean (1996). © Pipilotti Rist.

 

Camille Henrot, Grosse Fatigue 2013

Camille Henrot. Grosse Fatigue. 2013

Camille Henrot. Grosse Fatigue [still] (2013).

 

Mika Rottenberg, NoNoseKnows (2015)

Mika Rottenberg, NoNoseKnows (2015) [still]. Single-channel video installation, sound, color, dimensions variable; 21:58 min. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth.

Mika Rottenberg, NoNoseKnows (2015) [still]. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth.

Bill Viola, Water Martyr (panel 4 of 4), (2014)

Bill Viola, Water Martyr (panel 4 of 4), (2014). Courtesy of St. Paul's Cathedral.

Bill Viola, Water Martyr (panel 4 of 4), (2014). Courtesy of St. Paul’s Cathedral.

 

Yayoi Kusama, Infinity Mirror Room (Phalli’s Field), 1965

Yayoi Kusama, Infinity Mirror Room (Phalli's Field), 1965. Photo courtesy of Yayoi Kusama Studio Inc.

Yayoi Kusama, Infinity Mirror Room (Phalli’s Field), 1965. Photo courtesy of Yayoi Kusama Studio Inc.

 

Anish Kapoor, Sky Mirror (2001)

Anish Kapoor, Sky Mirror (2001). Courtesy of the artist.

Karin Davie, Pushed, Pulled, Depleted, & Duplicated #7, 2002-2003

Karin Davie, <i>Pushed, Pulled, Depleted, & Duplicated #7</i>, (2002-2003). Courtesy of the Albright Knox Museum.

Karin Davie, Pushed, Pulled, Depleted, & Duplicated #7, (2002-2003). Courtesy of the Albright Knox Museum.

Bridget Riley, Untitled (Diagonal Curve) (1966)

Bridget Riley, Untitled (Diagonal Curve) (1966). Courtesy of Sotheby's.

Bridget Riley, Untitled (Diagonal Curve) (1966). Courtesy of Sotheby’s.

 

M.C. Escher, Day and Night 2018

M.C. Escher, Day and Night. ©2018 the M.C. Escher Company.

M.C. Escher, Day and Night. ©2018 the M.C. Escher Company.

 

Omar Rayo, Kumo XV (1973)

Omar Rayo, <i>Kumo XV</i> (1973). Courtesy of Christie's Images, Ltd.

Omar Rayo, Kumo XV (1973). Courtesy of Christie’s Images, Ltd.

 

Gustave Moreau, L’Apparition (1876-77)

Gustave Moreau, L’Apparition (1876-77). Courtesy of Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop.

 

René Magritte, Cosmogonie élémentaire 1949

René Magritte, Cosmogonie élémentaire (1949) Image courtesy of Sotheby's.

René Magritte, Cosmogonie élémentaire (1949) Image courtesy of Sotheby’s.

 

Pavel Tchelitchew, Hide-and-Seek 1940-1942

Pavel Tchelitchew, Hide-and-Seek (June 1940 – June 1942). Courtesy of the Museum of Modern Art.

Giovanni di Paolo, The Creation of the World and the Expulsion from Paradise 1445

Giovanni di Paolo, <i>The Creation of the World and the Expulsion from Paradise</i> (1445). Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Giovanni di Paolo, The Creation of the World and the Expulsion from Paradise (1445). Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Giorgio de Chirico, Metaphysical Muse 1918

Giorgio de Chirico, Metaphysical Muse, (1918). Collezione Fondazione Francesco Federico Cerruti per l’Arte, Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Rivoli-Torino.


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