Having had a front-row seat to the Art World at large for the past 20 years- first exhibiting as an Artist with Galleries such as Mary Boone, Andrew Kreps, and Leo Koenig (New York, NY), earlier in his career; and later Curating and Presenting Exhibitions of Carol Bove, Wade Guyton, Anne Collier, and Nate Lowman (Marfa, TX) among a roster of internationally lauded Artists, Phelan developed a profound awareness and appreciation of how we view and experience Art. And how both space and context have a direct correlation to the way we perceive and understand Art.

Transcending institutional norms, Marfa Invitational manifests the 21st Century Devotion for the 'Real'. Transporting viewer and audience 'In real life' (IRL). Where one's human experience- physical, intellectual, and emotional- is fluid and ever enpasive. Echoing and reflecting the space and light of the high plains of the Chihuahuan Desert.

Founded on the construct of space as a genre, theme, and medium- Marfa Invitational is grounded in the credence that sensory immersion through contemporary art and design heightens the 'human experience'. Expanding one's 'umwelt' (German)- an individual's interaction with the surrounding world.