5M
611 N 6TH ST. KANSAS CITY, KS
APRIL 1ST - MAY 31ST, 2024

United Colors is excited to present 5M. Sharing the personal collection of Matt and Mandi Strange for the first time with the public.

A forward by Xiao daCunha:

The art world’s inapproachable reputation developed by commercial galleries and profit-driven collectors has kept many ordinary individuals out of the art collecting world. Yet, the simple fact is that once you buy a piece of art, you are an art collector. There is no difference whether you purchase at a street festival, an art fair, a museum or gallery, or an auction. Art collecting is accessible to everyone regardless of age, race, gender, occupation, and educational background.

The 5M Collection is a heartwarming family legacy rooted in Kansas City, consisting of global, regional, and local art while highlighting works created by women artists and artists of color. Matt Strange, who started the collection, was exposed to art early by visiting museums with his mother. When the time came, Matt transitioned from an art spectator to an active art collector. Today’s 5M Collection is a family legacy co-created by Matt and his wife, Mandi Strange, referring to the five “M”s in the name of Matt, Mandi, and their three kids.

Unlike many commercial collectors who treat artwork as currency, 5M constructs a meaningful sanctuary for the meaningful art created by each artist and those living, breathing, and growing with the pieces. May it be the comfortable, cozy, casual relaxation portrayed in “Sunday Kinda Love” by Robert Peterson; Or the self-indulging-fulfillment in Zéh Palito’s “Meu quintal é maior do que o Mundo (My backyard is bigger than the world);” Or the frustrated, clustered, distorted identities of under-represented communities interpreted by abstract assemblages — 5M treats these heart-strutting subjects with neither over-sentimental tokenization nor over-analytical apathy. Breaking elitist qualifiers and exclusive standards, 5M returns art collecting to its most fundamental rule: an innocent pursuit after a special sense of belonging, inspiration, and upliftingness.

You collect because a piece of art struck your soul.

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