Abstract
For the past 14 weeks I’ve worked on defining what it means to me to be both: An artist and a gamer. The work I’ve produced during this time calls into question where games exist in the art world and where the setting of the white wall gallery is headed. In an ever evolving landscape full of new digital technologies and experiences curated for art, I have tasked myself with moving oil painting forward into the next wave of video game art as well as pushing new avenues for the discussion of games as art. By working with traditional analogue mediums and settings, I’m materializing in paintings the digital images that I see while playing games, where they can be read and critically analyzed through the painting lense. My rejection of the contemporary digital space in art is rooted in my questioning of new art technology and reflecting on oil painting's importance by playing with the hierarchy of artistic mediums, subject matter, and my sense of community around gaming where I’ve built my deepest interpersonal relationships.
Artist Statement
My paintings show the importance of video games to art and culture. Through nostalgia and video game iconography I document the era of early online console gaming. Painting these games in oil paint on canvas brings them into a fine art context which connects gamers and non-gamers as viewers of art. When I bring the digital constructions of the games into a physical medium, you get a better sense of the artistry within them. My painting process is heavily focused on research and development through research of art history and traditional painting studies while also playing with my own style that is shaped by my history in abstract art.
