The life of a New York City building superintendent is humble. But, in keeping with his Catholic upbringing, artist and building super dan Waller, who uses a lowercase first name, translates that humility into something glorious. Gleaning materials such as window screening, fabric scraps, discarded book covers and bits of steel from the trash at the buildings where he has worked since the 1980s, he fashions outwardly austere but inwardly intricate boxlike sculptures. Each one, no more than a foot high, should be seen from a few inches away. Peering into the interior reveals a private world of half-hidden constructions made from layers of sheer pantyhose, hundreds of pearl beads or individual thorns, meticulously assembled over years of late nights. Like religious reliquaries, they invite the viewer to lean over and engage directly in the mysteries within.
‘Mary Magdalene’s Treasures’
On view through February 28 at Kishka Gallery & Library in White River Junction.
The original print version of this article was headlined “Shriney Objects”
This article appears in The Media Issue • 2026.
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