Green Hill Zone
Mikael Aguirre paints characters from games that lived in my hand when I was young. Yoshi with Baby Mario on his back. Chun-Li with her impossible legs. Sonic in the Green Hill Zone. His work gets something specific about how those sprites looked and felt—perfect, infinite, small. Looking at his paintings makes you want to play. Not want to remember playing. Want to actually play, right now, to hit that button and keep going. The work gives you that itch. But there’s no way to scratch it with just a painting.