Harman Projects is pleased to present Catalyst, a solo exhibition by Brooklyn-based artist Taylor Schultek. This will be the artist's first solo presentation with the gallery.

Drawing inspiration from the 1960s and 1970s military defense research programs dealing with the exploration of both computer technology and psychic abilities, Taylor Schultek researched the early development of the internet, satellites, and digital photography as well as parapsychological programs including MK Ultra and Project Stargate. Seeing that both sides of these government-funded programs essentially sought out the same results in different manners, the artist developed a world in which technology and the paranormal are interrelated.

Schultek has set these new paintings in a tech-noir world where the online realm is consuming the physical world. This mixing of these two worlds is represented by a circuit board of snaking conduits and pixelated portals placed in what would otherwise be considered normal cityscapes. In Catalyst pictured above, a deluge of digital information spews from a portal taking the shape of a giant sprite from the video game Space Invader.

In this dystopian reality, not too different from our own; information technology has pervaded every corner of human existence causing the border between worlds to break down and releasing bursts of paranormal activity. Through this combining of disparate imagery, the artist makes statements about the digital world's effects on our environment, psychology, and perception.

Taylor Schultek was born in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1990. He received his BFA degree in drawing from Minnesota State University Moorhead and his MFA in painting and anatomy from the New York Academy of Art in 2016. He currently resides in Brooklyn, NY, and is represented by Gallery Poulsen of Denmark. His works have been featured in numerous publications including American Art Collector, The New York Times, Hi-Fructose, and Juxtapoz. Notable collections include Eileen Guggenheim, musician Paul Banks, and artist Will Cotton.