Informed by his background in architecture and driven by a fascination with antiquity, Nick van Woert claims to “hijack” the art historical past to create his striking, wry sculptures. A strong sense of history—both natural and human—unites his prolific output. He cites Vitruvius, the early Roman architect who was inspired by nature, as a significant influence. Like an urban archeologist, van Woert combs through the convenience stores, factories, and dumpsters in Brooklyn to source materials for his sculptures, which he then re-presents in elegant works like Home and Garden (2011). In this work, van Woert fills transparent rectangular containers with a colorful assortment of consumer and industrial products—including Kool-Aid, a Dunkin Donuts billboard, salt, and hair gel—and stacks the containers to form two perpendicular walls that look like exposed geological strata.