Taylor Cleveland: Water Wars Ro2

Taylor Cleveland: Water Wars: Ro2

June 29- August 3, 2024

Press Release

Dallas native, Taylor Cleveland, known for his innovative fusion of new media rendering and traditional art, is debuting his latest exhibition, "Water Wars: Ro2." Influenced by Francis Bacon’s paintings, Cleveland’s technical mastery and artistic vision converge in an exploration of humanity's relationship with technology, instant gratification, superficial beauty, and leisure. "Water Wars" unfolds against the backdrop of a futuristic narrative, where Cleveland skillfully integrates artificial intelligence and cutting-edge digital technologies to craft a mesmerizing setting. With themes that resonate with contemporary concerns surrounding technological advancement and environmental peril, the exhibition confronts audiences with the consequences of human indulgence in superficial beauty and leisure at the expense of ecological harmony. Through the lens of AI and digital manipulation, "Water Wars" transcends audiences into landscapes of melted terrains and distorted figures, compelling them to confront the difficult juxtaposition between human ingenuity and environmental degradation. Yet, amidst the dystopian imagery, Cleveland's work also encourages introspection, inviting viewers to reevaluate their place within the natural world and the transient nature of human existence. By challenging the reliance on technology for solace and advancement, "Water Wars" prompts a profound reconsideration of humanity's potential within the environment.

About the Artist

Taylor Cleveland (b.1992, Dallas) is a Texas-based artist driven by a fascination with technologic systems that shape realities—from AI, digital media, and the internet, to social technologies like culture, language, and politics. He received his BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, he is currently developing his MFA thesis, ‘Aesthetics of Real,’ at Southern Methodist University. His work has been recognized internationally through various exhibitions and collaborations including the AI/motion pieces featured in Adnan Razvi’s international “MAWIMBI” series, being a featured artist for Meow Wolf, and having been published in the Nasher Sculpture Center magazine. Taylor’s digital studio, Jumbo Jumbo, has serviced commercial clients including Disney, American Express, & Paramount Studios, and has won various marketing awards for this work, including Webby, Clio, and Shorty Awards.

ARTIST Statement

My practice is driven by a fascination with technologic systems that shape realities — from AI, digital media, and the internet, to social technologies like culture, language, and politics. I’m drawn to Vibrant Materiality, a concept Jane Bennett describes as matter that possesses the ability to change and influence human and nonhuman actors. My processes stem from experimentation, but ultimately confront and challenge reality by exploiting systems and leaning into humor and absurdity. Provocatively playful, I look for moments, gestures, and assemblages where consensus appears out of reach: an A.I. oil painting portrait of the former president, George W. Bush that was created via contracted labor in China, or a suspended sculpture made from turf and projectors dealing with the environmental affordances of new media. As form follows function, function follows reality, and my art is a means to reveal, question, create, and play with that reality. I take a Heideggarian approach to “being in the world” through unconcealment or enframing, while considering Theodor Adorno’s notion that “Art is the social antithesis of society, not directly deducible from it'. These perspectives in my work can be seen in form through video sculpture, A.I. renderings, installation, traditional media, and collaboration.

show statement

“Water Wars” is an ongoing series of artifacts and rendered residue from an exploratory process into A.I. and generative imagery. This series discovers a visual language intertwined with leisure, poolside beauty, a warming global climate, and technology's role within all of this. The remnants of this process manifest as prints, robotic drawings, installations, art objects, video, and projections. Conceptually, "Water Wars" grapples with the profound impact of technology on the environment, as it pertains to mass society's instinctual fixation on superficial beauty, instant gratification, and leisure. Inspired by the elegant yet distorted painting style of Francis Bacon, the subjects in these desert landscapes appear to melt within pools of plastic being fueled by the very processes that rendered them. The works in this series serve as poignant reflections on the tensions between human indulgence and environmental stewardship. The robotic drawings and installations blur the lines between organic and artificial, revealing the paradox of human creativity intertwined with technological precision. These pieces challenge viewers to confront the ephemeral allure of digital art and the enduring consequences of environmental neglect. "Water Wars" is an urgent call to reexamine our obsession with surface-level beauty and the role of technology in our lives. It compels us to reflect on the transient nature of our creations and the enduring impact they leave on the natural world. Through this series, viewers are invited to engage in a critical dialogue about the intersection of art, technology, and the environment, and to reconsider our collective responsibility towards a more sustainable future.