John Gerrard (artist)
| John Gerrard | |
|---|---|
| Born |
20 July 1974 Dublin, Ireland |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Education |
The Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, Oxford Art Institute of Chicago Trinity College, Dublin |
| Known for | Sculpture, Installation art |
| Notable work | "Farm (Pryor Creek, Oklahoma) 2015" [2015] "Solar Reserve (Tonopah, Nevada) 2014" [2014] Exercise (Dijbouti, 2012) [2012] "Cuban School (Community 5th of October) 2010 [2010] "Lufkin (near Hugo, Colorado) 2009" [2009] |
| Awards | Pépinières Residency at Ars Electronica, Linz (2002) |
John Gerrard, (born 20 July 1974) is an Irish artist, working in Dublin and Vienna, best known for his sculptures, which typically take the form of digital simulations displayed using Real-time computer graphics.
Gerrard received a BFA from The Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, Oxford University. During this time he made his first experiments with 3D scanning as a form of sculptural photography. He undertook postgraduate studies at The School of The Art Institute of Chicago and Trinity College, Dublin, and in 2002 was awarded a Pépinières Residency at Ars Electronica, Linz, where he developed his first works in 3D Real-time computer graphics. In June 2009 he began a six-month guest residency at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, Amsterdam. During 2012 he was Legacy Fellow at Magdalen College, Oxford, working on Exercise (Djibouti) 2012, a commission for Modern Art Oxford and the London 2012 Festival.
Gerrard's works concern themselves with the nature of contemporary power in the broadest sense, epitomising the structures of power and the networks of energy that characterized the massive expansion and intensification of human endeavour that took place during the twentieth century. Many works have featured geographically isolated industrial facilities that are a hidden part of the global production network that makes the luxuries of contemporary life possible. As Emily Hall wrote in ArtForum:
[Gerrard's] fine balance of concept, content, and material suggest a theme and variations on the theme of the virtual. The computer-generated landscapes bring to mind, of course, virtual worlds, video games, special effects – that is, ways of producing unrealities. Here the format manifests something quite real, albeit at the periphery of most of our worlds – the discomfort of this admission is part of the work's impact – since for many of us, the arrival of food in our markets and the availability of oil are things we take on faith, if we think about them at all. Their existence remains provisional – more or less virtual – whether in life, on a gallery wall, or on a computer chip.
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