Opening Reception Thursday, June 7, 2018 - 6:00 - 8:00 pm
Show runs June 2-29, 2018
Opening Reception Thursday, June 7, 2018 - 6:00 - 8:00 pm
Show runs June 2-29, 2018
Shane Durgee studied Illustration at Syracuse University, earning a BFA in 1998. After years of struggling in the fantasy and science fiction illustration market, he shifted his focus to more expressive work, eventually earning an MFA from Rochester Institute of Technology. He currently works full time in Rochester as an instructor and a Gallery Coordinator for the Bevier Gallery at R.I.T.
On his work:
My work begins as a contemplation of how American identities are constructed during childhood through a matrix of outside influences dominated by mass media and consumerism. I’ve developed a visual language derived from iconography gathered from cartoons, video games and album covers from my formative years. This iconography is then abstracted, mirroring the fog of memory. I use digital collages initially to generate ideas, but there is a deeper connection between the digital and the physical, a relationship that is influenced by the rapidly changing technologies of our escapist culture. Paint marks are scanned and embedded into the collages which in turn act as sketches for new paintings. Blurring the lines between processes can be seen as a metaphor for how the digital world has become integral to our social lives, ultimately shaping our identities.
On his work:
My work begins as a contemplation of how American identities are constructed during childhood through a matrix of outside influences dominated by mass media and consumerism. I’ve developed a visual language derived from iconography gathered from cartoons, video games and album covers from my formative years. This iconography is then abstracted, mirroring the fog of memory. I use digital collages initially to generate ideas, but there is a deeper connection between the digital and the physical, a relationship that is influenced by the rapidly changing technologies of our escapist culture. Paint marks are scanned and embedded into the collages which in turn act as sketches for new paintings. Blurring the lines between processes can be seen as a metaphor for how the digital world has become integral to our social lives, ultimately shaping our identities.