MAXWELL ORSEN
Vol. 01 | No. 01 | August 2026
Virgil Abloh, Robbie Austin, Casio watches, and the studio.
BEFORE WE BEGIN
These pages collect the art, books, exhibitions, fimls, objects, music, ideas, and observations that lingered longer than expected for me. Everything here earned its place. Take what stays with you.
- Maxwell
CULTURAL DESK
PERSON
FILM
ALBUM
T.E. Lawrence
Better known as Lawrence of Arabia.
A British officer, archaeologist, and author whose role in the Arab Revolt during the First World War made him one of the twentieth century's most compelling figures.
I recently watched Lawrence of Arabia for the first time since I was a teenager, and it blew me away all over again. Gorgeous.
This led me on a journey to learn more about Lawrence himself. What a complicated, consequential character. Killed in a motorcycle accident at just 46.
Phantom Thread, Paul Thomas Anderson.
A 2017 film that follows the increasingly entangled relationship between a celebrated London dressmaker and his young muse in 1950s London.
Beyond the film itself, which for any fan of aesthetic personality is on a different level, the acting and the score! Jonny Greenwood is at his best. I'll spare you commentary on the heights of Daniel Day-Lewis's performance, which is automatic with him.
In Utero, Nirvana.
Released in 1993, In Utero was Nirvana's third and final studio album, recorded as a deliberate return to the band's harsher, less polished instincts.
I bought this on CD when it came out. I was 14. I remember staring at the cover while "Serve the Servants" kicked off the album. I had heard Nevermind, but didn't buy it. This was on another level. It was just a blink until Unplugged, and then a few months later, it was all over.
BOOK
PLACE
EFFECTS
The Price of Salt, Patricia Highsmith.
Originally published in 1952 under the name Claire Morgan, The Price of Salt (later retitled Carol) traces the relationship between two women against the backdrop of midcentury New York.
I fell in love with Highsmith after seeing The Talented Mr. Ripley (the one with Matt Damon, Jude Law, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Cate Blanchett. My God, that cast.) and then reading the novel.
Her short stories are also gems, but The Price of Salt sits at the top of the Highsmith mountain alongside Strangers on a Train and the Ripley novels.
The Goldenrod. York Beach, Maine.
Established in 1896, the shop endures as a rare surviving combination of restaurant, soda fountain, ice cream parlor, and candy counter.
Our first trip during the pandemic was to York Beach. Looking at the photo above, I can see my 2-year-old daughter sitting on the curb out front. York will always be a special place for me, with memories stretching back decades, and The Goldenrod is embedded in many of them.
Casio watches. Cool. Unpretentious. Japanese.
I have a few in rotation. Three of them, actually. The combined purchase price for the lot is about $150.
I'm not against anyone holding out for a used Rolex or anything. I've certainly thought about selling plasma, or whatever else is in demand, to get one on my wrist. But as I get older, there's less to prove, especially with something as inconsequential as a wristwatch.
I can afford a Casio. I can afford another Casio. They have some really unique designs and a rich history. Obama wore a Casio. Maxwell does too.
STUDIO REPORT
When my father passed away last year, I reclaimed a number of paintings I had made decades before that he had kept for himself. They weren't very good, and for years I had known exactly what I would do once I got them back.
I removed the canvases from their stretchers, which left me with roughly fifteen frames in various sizes, some quite large (30" × 40", for example). I had rolls of primed canvas waiting to be stretched over them, but instead I decided to use unprimed cotton drop cloths. The rawness of the surface felt important to me.
My dad was the keeper of those early paintings. He saw something in them that made them worth hanging onto, even when I didn't. After he died, taking those paintings apart became part of saying goodbye to him, letting go of an earlier self, and deciding what would continue.
IN VIEW
Virgil Abloh’s men’s Autumn/Winter 2021 presentation for Louis Vuitton.
The brilliance lies in the immediate separation between product and exhibition. Even while displaying the clothes, the collection remains in service of the more important message that assumption is a dangerous shortcut.
I return to this a few times a year.
IN PRINT
James Baldwin
“Stranger in the Village”
by James Baldwin
The aforementioned Louis Vuitton presentation by Virgil Abloh was inspired in part by this essay by Baldwin.
It first appeared in Harper's Magazine in October 1953 and was later included in Baldwin's Notes of a Native Son.
He foresaw, in a sense, an America that would eventually collapse under the weight of the myths it had constructed about race if it refused to confront them.
ON REPEAT
FLORES (Joe Jury and James New)
"Re: Stacks" by FLORES.
FLORES' cover of "Re: Stacks" keeps the title but changes the weather entirely. Where Bon Iver leaves you in the woods in winter, Joe Jury and James New hand you the keys to a convertible and point you toward the coast.
GOOD COMPANY
Robbie Austin
Instagram: robbieaustin
Robbie makes the kind of work that stopped me in my tracks. Built on old maps, ledgers, field books, and other found materials, his paintings feel like they've already lived a life before he ever touched them. The longer you spend with them, the more they seem to unfold. There are pencil marks, bits of math, faded notes, blocks of color, loose lines, and swirls of paint. There's something about them that's hard to put your finger on. It's like two different worlds have been brought together. Neither one is trying to overpower the other. Instead, they seem to be studying each other, each carrying the same question: what are you?
Grit and Grime in the Nick of Time
They Fall Before My Eyes
Competing Stories
CONDITIONS REPORT
Once shared with the world, an artist's work becomes a contract with the viewer. For that reason, the work must be honest. Convincing people to spend money on dishonest art is easy enough. For me, honesty comes down to whether I would want my own work in my life if it had been made by someone else. If the answer is no, something has gone wrong.
FROM THE EDITOR
Thanks for spending a little time with the inaugural issue. I was more hesitant to begin this than I probably should have been, but interesting projects rarely improve by remaining hypothetical.
This first issue is modest. Future editions will almost certainly grow longer, a bit stranger perhaps, and hopefully better. I also aim to continue to shine a light on the living artists, musicians, and writers whose company enriches my own world.
Thank you for your attention and your encouragement. If someone came to mind while reading this, forward them this issue. Word of mouth is how this publication grows.
The world remains full of interesting discoveries if you know where to look.
Until next month,
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