Castor Gallery is pleased to present Nature, an exhibition of new work from artists Jeanette Hayes, Michael Manning, Austin Lee, Patrick Jacobs, Robert Lazzarini and Jonas Lund. Nature will explore artworks that are all rooted in mathematics, algorithms, code and modern technology which continue to push the barrier on the ever changing landscape and definition of traditional artworks. Different mediums include data mining apps, neural networks created to produce artworks, evolving and updated streaming websites, 3D printed artworks, Social Media video collages, and intricate sculpture works that are achieved through current technological advancements.
Jeanette Hayes: (b. 1988) Known for her collage-like aesthetic, Hayes uses mixed media to build a bridge between high and popular culture. Her Renaissance and Baroque paintings are interfered by internet icons and anime characters. Prior solo shows include Castor Gallery and Romeo NYC. Group shows include The Hole & M+B Gallery LA. Video work includes projects Chanel, Alexander Wang, & Proenza Schuler. Hayes is based in New York and received her BFA from PRATT.
Michael Manning: (b. 1985, New York, USA) Manning is an LA-based artist who explores alternative approaches to producing and distributing traditional art objects using technology and social networking. Through mixed media, he juxtaposes touch screens with canvas art, incorporating new media into traditional art forms. Most recently, he has had solo presentations at monCHERI Gallery (Brussels), Gavlack Gallery (Palm Beach, FL), and Last Resort Gallery (Copenhagen). He has also had an '100 Paintings' book published by CURA for Los Angeles Art Book Fair.
Austin Lee: Lee is a New York-based, international artist with an MFA in Painting from the Yale School of Art. While his computer-based graphics retain corporeal properties, his abstract figures are "dissociated from the tangible", making them incomparable to anything in the real world. By using mixed media such as paint, digital drawing tools, and even sculpture, Lee is creating expressive and colorful contemporary art with a comical cartoonish emotion to it. His pieces are usually large, painted with bright, opaque colors and covered with a gloss matte to make them glow. Previously, Lee has had solo exhibitions at Postmasters (NY, USA), Carl Kostyal (Stockholm and London), and Kaleidoscope (Milan, Italy).
Patrick Jacobs: (California, USA) With an MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Jacobs is now based in Brooklyn, where he creates hyperrealistic miniature looking glasses showcasing glimpses of natural world. He presents his work like a scientific exploration, using a variety of materials to vividly portray elements of nature. Jacobs has also created a large installation piece of a distorted corner of an apartment. Solo shows include Pierogi Gallery (NY, USA) and recent group shows include Paul Kasmin Gallery.
Robert Lazzarini: (b. 1965, New Jersey, USA) Based in New York City, Lazzarini is concerned with the ambiguity in interpretation of art as well as the conceptualization made by spectators. His work has frequently featured the motif of death but most commonly, distortion. Inspired by the minimalist art movement, Lazzarini makes sculptures of common objects and transforms them into distorted visuals, interfering with the instinctual interpretations of the viewer. The unfamiliarity of the distorted object captures the viewer's' gaze as they try to find meaning in the work. Lazzarini uses an algorithm to create sine-wave distortions composed of intersecting sine-waves, making an image that our eyes cannot focus on completely. Solo shows include: Dittrich Schlechtriem (Berlin), Marlborough Chelsea (NYC), Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Paul Kasmin Gallery (NYC), FLAG Art Foundation (NYC), Honor Fraser (LA), Deitch Projects (NYC), Mint Museum (Charlotte), Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond). Public collections include: Carnegie museum of Art, Whitney Museum of Art, Milwaukee Art Museum, Virginia Museum of Fine Art.
Jonas Lund: Lund is a contemporary Swedish artist who uses mixed media to explore how we are influenced by the digitization of the world. While he exposes our dependence on new technologies, he also invites the audience to play interactive games testing their tolerance for the overdose of information that is received online. Online technologies simultaneously simplify and complicate human experience; they have the potential to promote human connection, but they can also dematerialize real meaning. Lund is an avid experimenter of multi-media platforms and digital tools and even streams some of his experiments live. He has had solo exhibitions in London, Los Angeles, Amsterdam, New York, Paris, Istanbul and Rio de Janeiro.