Rollin Léonard's Algorithmic Portraits at Galerie Xpo
At Galerie Xpo, Rollin Léonard's exhibition 'New Portraiture' presents portraits distorted by algorithmic manipulation, reducing faces to liquid patterns. The artist, from a generation fluent in algorithmic matrices, employs digital tools to 'de-face' subjects, challenging traditional portraiture and facial recognition technologies. His work references Zygmunt Bauman's 'liquid modernity' and Georges Bataille's concept of the 'formless,' navigating between abstraction and biomedical imagery akin to DNA or fractals. The series explores the transition from solid to liquid form, repeating portraits to the point of abstraction, and renegotiates the relationship between physiological organs, artificial organs, and social organizations. Léonard reinvents the portrait genre by replacing the subject with technical imaginaries that crystallize its aura.
Key facts
- Exhibition titled 'New Portraiture' by Rollin Léonard at Galerie Xpo.
- Portraits are altered, flattened, and rendered like puddles with isolated eyes or mouths on flesh-colored backgrounds.
- Léonard confronts the face with liquid elements, referencing the Narcissus myth.
- The work assimilates Zygmunt Bauman's concept of 'liquid modernity.'
- Léonard uses software manipulations to 'de-face' subjects, opposing facial recognition algorithms.
- The imagery sometimes resembles biomedical or fractal patterns.
- The series explores a 'metaphysics of fluids,' transitioning from solid to liquid, unified form to programmed dissemination.
- Repeated portraits turn into abstraction, navigating between coding and decoding flows.
Entities
Artists
- Rollin Léonard
Institutions
- Galerie Xpo
Sources
- artpress —