Los Angeles, 2017

From Memory

Steve Turner Los Angeles, May 6 - June 10

From Memory features seven relief works based on high-resolution 3D scans of the facades of historic landmark buildings in Krakow and Vienna. These cities carry a personal significance to the artist that is based around family origins and his own travels. However, by using these stock scans sourced from online databases, Staniak experiences an these places through an archived digital lens as recorded by other individuals. In this way, he emphasises our dependence on information uploaded to networks that are entirely administered by others.

Made through a process of distorting and warping the scans using open-source software, Staniak’s works are the product of his continual exploration of the changing dynamics of the proliferation of digital culture. The distortions in these reliefs serve to demonstrate the malleability of digital information and examine the validity of archiving and monitoring our physical history, objects and environment using only virtual renderings.

Even though the works are monochromatic, they are actually optically complicated, full of undulating recesses that create a range of hues based solely on the effect of light and shadow. In this way the artist is mimicking digital “skins”, which are a visual aid used to enhance the three-dimensional depth and shape of the scans when viewed on a flat screen within the open-source software.

In addition to Staniak’s identification with his personal history, he also embodies a strong art-historical heritage within these relief works that includes cave paintings, ancient marble reliefs, minimalism and drip paintings. He also adds to the legacy of Southern California’s Finish Fetish artists of the 1960s and 1970s and the Light and Space artists of the same era.