Mariko Makino
Outside

May 16 – August 15, 2026
Entrance / Red Hook
113 Wolcott Street, Brooklyn, NY

Entrance is pleased to present Outside, a solo exhibition of new work by Mariko Makino at Entrance / Red Hook. Featuring a body of large-scale outdoor sculptures, the show marks Makino's first sustained effort in work made for the open air, in addition to a suite of indoor sculptures made over a span of two years.

In her work preceding Outside, Makino’s practice has centered predominantly in investigations joining neon and wood. She bends glass and carves timber by hand in her studio in upstate New York, influenced by the nearby grassland and forest, Makino’s work has frequently referenced natural forms. She describes her greatest sense of awe as coming from observing nature's systems and patterns, which are offered in abundance in the landscape surrounding her studio. It was here, inversely, that the work in Outside found its footing in something new. "I didn't want to compete with nature anymore," she says, "the competition is too steep." Instead, Makino became attentive to the power lines, farming equipment, and utility structures intersecting the land. Utilitarian objects built to exist outdoors, to hold and carry enormous amounts of energy, whilst attempting to blend into their surroundings. Makino found herself intrigued by this logic. 

A substation and a forest operate on similar terms, both composed of many separate parts, each containing and transferring energy through a system larger than any one element. Working in neon, a medium defined by its transmission of electricity and color, made the connection less metaphoric. In her new work, neon is present for its color and its light, not its form. Makino is careful to distinguish her use of neon from its conventional outdoor associations. Stripped of the commercial legibility typical in outdoor signage, the tubes are instead placed inside galvanized steel mesh structures which interrupt and filter light, breaking the color into atmospheric haze as it bounces across the metal surrounding it.

The move to outdoor installation presented a new problem: how to maintain the handmade quality which defines her work, while creating on a scale able to complement the vastness of an open space. In lieu of the materials conventionally associated with outdoor sculpture, like industrial steel, Makino opted for galvanized wire fencing. Unlike typical steel sculpture, which often requires a team to be assembled, and requires welding for its structural integrity, the fencing is a lighter material which can be cut and folded, ubiquitous with agriculture and home gardening. 

These new works, constructed piece by piece, assembled from parts of manipulated, cut, and re-rolled fencing, have become Makino’s most monumental efforts to date. However, through the accessibility and familiarity of the material, their scale remains personable. For Makino, the process by which elements come together to form larger structures reflects a characteristic fundamental of natural ecosystems, which do not exist as singular entities but rather as interconnected networks operating as a cohesive whole.

In the daytime, Makino’s outdoor sculptures read through their material weight and silhouette alone, the neon goes unseen, at night they are activated and change entirely. In order to see the work wholly as intended, one must return to the space across both time and light conditions, as they will only then reveal themselves fully to the viewer. Within this process Makino welcomes nature as her collaborator, while also asking the viewer to be present inside the lifecycle of the sculptures. In consideration of this, Entrance / Red Hook has shifted its hours to accommodate viewing the work into the night for the duration of the exhibition.

Makino's latest indoor sculptures, developed in parallel to this new body of work, will also be on view. These works, made primarily of reclaimed carved wood, string, and neon, present at human scale. Makino is clear that the two bodies of work do not need to be reconciled. They shared a studio and a period of time in making. Whether they share more than that she leaves open. 

Mariko Makino (b. 1987) is a sculptor that lives and works between Lower Manhattan and Freehold, NY. Her sinuously shaped, organic forms emit a prismatic glow and create immersive atmospheric environments. Makino was raised in Japan and returned to her birthplace of New York in 2006, where she has since lived. Makino originally trained professionally as a chef, finding similarities in the experiential notions of crafting both food and sculpture. Her love of communal meals persists, privileging shared experiences around light, color, and form. Makino bends the neon and carves the wood in her sculptures herself. Unlike traditional neon signage, which can be jarring visually, Makino's intention is that her work can be comfortably lived with and shared within a home environment, like a good meal.

Makino is represented by Entrance, where she had her debut in 2018. Outside, Entrance / Red Hook, Brooklyn, NY (2026) is her fourth solo exhibition with the gallery. Makino’s sculptures have been shown at Paris London Hong Kong, Chicago, IL (2022), Phil Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (2024), North Loop, Williamstown, MA (2023), Document, Lisbon, Portugal (2023). She has participated in fair presentations at Felix Art Fair, Los Angeles, CA (2023, 2024), Expo Chicago, Chicago, IL (2023), and the New Art Dealers Alliance, Miami, FL and New York, NY (2022, 2023, 2025). In Fall 2025, her work was included in Side Hustle, a group exhibition curated by legendary interior designer Kelly Wearstler in Los Angeles, CA.

For inquiries, email info@entrance.nyc