Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle: A Want for Nothing: Explore Key Themes

Iñigo says he creates objects that blur the line between art and utility. The works in this exhibition resemble utilitarian objects but serve no conventional practical purpose. In turn, they reveal a surprising functionality, one that critiques broader sociopolitical and environmental issues.

Key themes of this exhibition include philosophical inquiry on function and form; social, political, economic and geographic aspects of water rights and water scarcity; and a sociopolitical critique of a circuit court ruling that prohibited absentee ballot drop boxes in Wisconsin.

Sandler, Teddy. "Shaped By Histories: 'Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle: A Want for Nothing'” at the DePaul Art Museum." NewCity, September 8, 2025.

Godard, Jefferson. "Open to Interpretation: Ionit Behar Curates a Show of Work by Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle at DPAM." Chicago Gallery News, September 11, 2025.

Sholette, Gregory and Chloë Bass. Art as Social Action : An Introduction to the Principles and Practices of Teaching Social Practice Art. New York, New York: Allworth Press, An Imprint of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. 2018.

An Attempt to Say Something that Can Actually Hold Water

Contemplates an object that hovers between function and form, between the real and the representational. This philosophical question strongly references Marcel Duchamp's readymades.

Gale, Matthew. "Ready-made." Grove Art Online. 2003; Accessed 8 Sep. 2025.

Well + 41°55’30.2”N 87°39’09”W

As part of an ongoing project, Inigo has been installing functioning wells in locations around the country. Addresses the social, political, economic and geographic aspects of water rights and water scarcity. Spanning from the southwestern United States to northwestern Mexico, the desert is not only marked by environmental vulnerability, but is also an active corridor of migration. While the artist has often described the Well project as a direct response to the tradition of Conceptual Land Art—particularly Walter De Maria’s Vertical Earth Kilometer (1977), largely hidden, underground in Kessel, Germany—this is unlike previous iterations of the work.

Gzesh, Susan, Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle, Abigail Winograd, and Jill Sterrett. 2022. “Fluid Dynamics—Water, Rights, and Art in the Body Politic.” Portable Gray 5 (1): 26–37. doi:10.1086/720489.

Well·ness at The Commonwealth Resources: Quadrant 3 | Well. Sweet Water Foundation.

Gluck, Marissa. "Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle Brings 500 Gallons of Water to Los Angeles." PBS SoCal. September 10, 2015.

Recumbent Boxes

Direct response to the 2020 circuit court ruling that prohibited absentee ballot drop boxes in Wisconsin, a decision later upheld in a narrow 4–3 vote by Wisconsin’s conservative Supreme Court.

"Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle's Half Ton Box at THE SUBURBAN." Art, Theory, Practice. Northwestern University. 2022.

Wagner, John. Wisconsin Judge Rules Absentee Ballot Drop Boxes can’t be used in the State. Washington, D.C. The Washington Post, 2022. 

Corse, Alexa. "U.S. News: Wisconsin Justices Ban Drop Boxes for Absentee Ballots." Wall Street Journal, Jul 09, 2022, Eastern edition. 

The Benches

Art is not always about what the artist’s intention is. Inigo’s philosophy is that his work is not complete until you (the viewer) are in the space thinking about the installation,