Diary
Three Questions for… Firelei Báez
In the latest installment of Three Questions for—in which we cross-examine some of our favorite cultural figures—we met with Firelei Báez on the occasion of her solo exhibition of new paintings, works on paper and large-scale bronze sculptures “feet squelching on wet grass, nourished by uncertainty” in New York. Báez also features in “Directionless,” a sweeping group exhibition organized by Rashid Johnson, opening June 21 at Hauser & Wirth Menorca and featuring the work of 28 artists—including Charles Gaines, Julie Mehretu and Cristina Iglesias.
What book is on your nightstand?
Right now I am hyper-focusing on painting a really beautiful, luscious landscape, so there's a mountain of books on my nightstand about plant husbandry—everything from how to create flower fields to plant pathology to marshes.
What's the best piece of advice you've ever received?
To not let perfection be the enemy of the good. And also to nurture my own garden in the sense of not getting distracted by other people's journeys, to try to really focus on my own. Also to nurture JOMO, the joy of missing out, instead of FOMO.
What object would you smuggle home from a museum?
As many painters are aware, as you age your sight changes, but your sense of touch remains. So I'd like to smuggle out an object that activates both the imagination and haptic memory. So it would be the sculpture known as the Stargazer, the Cycladic figure of a female form gazing skyward, which was on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for many years.
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“feet squelching on wet grass, nourished by uncertainty” is on view at Hauser & Wirth’s New York 22nd Street gallery through 31 July 2026.
Now open at Hauser & Wirth’s Menorca art center, “Directionless” is a group exhibition organized by Rashid Johnson who invited artists Charles Gaines, Firelei Báez, and Cristina Iglesias to nominate peers from beyond the gallery’s roster, dispersing curatorial authority and allowing the exhibition to develop through affinity, divergence, and conversation.