Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 8

Oli Sorenson
Abdala

2021

$700
£537.57
€616.05
CA$985.43
A$1,103.90
CHF 575.23
MX$13,465.25
NOK 7,309.86
SEK 6,892.68
DKK 4,598.02

About the Item

Building on a series of exhibitions titled Panorama of the Anthropocene which examined the ecological impact of human activity through an array of paintings, digital prints and videos, Oli Sorenson’s Capitalocene? turns to the economic system that underlies this era. Where Anthropocene names a geological epoch defined by human activity, Capitalocene disputes the former term’s homogenization of humanity within a single category, refuting its equal attribution of responsibility for the impacts of an economic system predicated on unequal distribution of power. Capitalocene? ponders instead on a much smaller subset of humanity: the so-called 1%, whose choices and lifestyles drive anthropogenic climate change and who are nonetheless largely sheltered from its impacts. Avoiding didacticism in favour of critical engagement, Sorenson’s framing of the term as a question invites viewers to reflect on responsibility and complicity for themselves, and to find answers in their own terms. A digital Pop aesthetic permeates the exhibition, which features works on paper and canvas, video, and online NFTs. Neon-toned graphics evoke informational and material excess in the form of abstracted cargo ships on waterways and repeating icons of automobiles, fuel containers, shopping bags, and vaccine vials. Collectively, these images suggest the immensity of global supply chains by referencing processes of mass production, transportation, distribution, consumption, and disposal. Sorenson creatively borrows from Pop and Neo-Geometric Conceptualism, making tactical use of repetition and geometric abstraction to describe the monumental scale and impact of human economic activity under capitalism. Relentlessly bright tones echo the advertising screens of consumerist visual culture: the desire to catch and hold the eye, the failed promise of infinite material prosperity.. What at first appears as a contradiction – the inclusion of NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) in an ecocritical exhibition – serves to open up another realm for consideration: the art world’s complicity in global capital. Conscious of the massive energy footprint of conventional NFTs, Sorenson opts to use cleanNFTs which consume an infinite fraction of energy, in comparison to those based on dominant crypto-currencies. This deliberate gesture underscores that viable alternatives are available today, in NFTs as in other economic sectors. Yet as these approaches involve less money per transaction and fewer intermediaries, Sorenson notes, ecological solutions are sidelined in the interest of profit. Capitalocene? does not explicitly name a culprit of climate change. The exhibition does, however, convincingly illustrate how the dominant economic system of capitalism prescribes an array of human activities whose ubiquity and sustained repetition, carried out in plain sight and sanctioned by those in power, shapes life on a planetary scale to dire ends.
  • Creator:
    Oli Sorenson
  • Creation Year:
    2021
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 20 in (50.8 cm)Width: 20 in (50.8 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Montreal, CA
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU4769568142

More From This Seller

View All
Janssen
Located in Montreal, Quebec
Building on a series of exhibitions titled Panorama of the Anthropocene which examined the ecological impact of human activity through an array of paintings, digital prints and video...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Prints

Materials

Archival Paper, Digital

AstraZeneka
Located in Montreal, Quebec
Building on a series of exhibitions titled Panorama of the Anthropocene which examined the ecological impact of human activity through an array of paintings, digital prints and video...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Prints

Materials

Archival Paper, Digital

Pfizer
Located in Montreal, Quebec
Building on a series of exhibitions titled Panorama of the Anthropocene which examined the ecological impact of human activity through an array of paintings, digital prints and video...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Prints

Materials

Archival Paper, Digital

Moderna
Located in Montreal, Quebec
Building on a series of exhibitions titled Panorama of the Anthropocene which examined the ecological impact of human activity through an array of paintings, digital prints and video...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Prints

Materials

Archival Paper, Digital

Suez
Located in Montreal, Quebec
Building on a series of exhibitions titled Panorama of the Anthropocene which examined the ecological impact of human activity through an array of paintings, digital prints and video...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic, Varnish

Crédit
Located in Montreal, Quebec
Building on a series of exhibitions titled Panorama of the Anthropocene which examined the ecological impact of human activity through an array of paintings, digital prints and video...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Enamel

You May Also Like

Untitled#12
By Nicole Yates
Located in New York, NY
ABOUT THIS PIECE: A study of gesture in a digital context. Nicole Yates is inspired by the landscape and architecture in her everyday life. She deducts, simplifies, and abstracts the...
Category

2010s Abstract Prints

Materials

Photographic Paper

Untitled#11
By Nicole Yates
Located in New York, NY
ABOUT THIS PIECE: A study of gesture in a digital context. Nicole Yates is inspired by the landscape and architecture in her everyday life. She deducts, simplifies, and abstracts the...
Category

2010s Abstract Prints

Materials

Photographic Paper

200712
By Gustavo Bonevardi
Located in New Orleans, LA
Born and raised in New York City, Gustavo received a masters degree in architecture from Princeton University. While at first integrating murals and sculptural elements into his arch...
Category

2010s Contemporary Drawings and Watercolor Paintings

Materials

Charcoal, Acrylic, Panel

Almost
By Jim Rennert
Located in Greenwich, CT
A woman climbing over a wall, almost there. Edition of 10 American, b. 1958 Jim Rennert was born in 1958, and grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Salt Lake City, Utah. After ten tryi...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Prints

Materials

Digital

Bold Abstract 3
By Gary Andrew Clarke
Located in New York, NY
ABOUT THIS PIECE: Gary Andrew Clarke is a digital artist and painter. He lives in Manchester, England. The central preoccupation of his work is one of creating simple flirtatious enc...
Category

2010s Abstract Prints

Materials

Photographic Paper

Draw Attention
By Rick Garcia
Located in Chicago, IL
Archival Ink on Museum Quality Rag Paper Available in the following sizes: 16 x 20 inches 24 x 30 inches 30 x 40 inches Edition size: 25 Please inquire regarding framing Rick Garcia's RAG13 Collection is inspired by the observation that there has been a significant and permanent change in our public and private lives. These artworks use symbolism to illustrate how the ubiquitous presence of suspicion and the act of being a suspect have both become a way of life. Adults and children are shown as generic solid shapes with parts missing to indicate loss of identity and the relinquishing of certain rights. The watchful eye of authority is always present as a figure dressed in black with three white stripes. All of the figures have a red dot to symbolize the human heart; how we are all connected. This red dot also represents being a target or a person of interest. Overall, this latest series creates a surreal flow of images, colors, and shapes blending into a beautiful and poignant work of art. About the Artist: "Photography has been part of my creativity throughout my life and more recently has become influential in my abstract work on canvas. The magical shapes of water gracefully floating or scattering in mid-air reveals the true god-like essence of nature. I am fascinated studying these images of bright tiny mercury-like globes, silky trails, dancing droplets and crystal clear languid sheets. " Rick Garcia was born in Havana, Cuba, and very soon after, his parents relocated to Miami, Florida. He was always encouraged to follow his dream of pursuing and developing his talent in art. In later years he found a deep-rooted connection to surrealism, especially the work of Salvador Dali. Garcia had become obsessed with the unique images and amazing technique of the Spanish painter and he eventually traveled to Port Lligat, Spain to visit the home and surroundings of his mentor. After years of attending the Art Institute of Miami, where he refined his artistic vision in drawing and painting, he was soon earning an income from published illustrations. Garcia has enjoyed a rich and diverse career starting with the hit TV show "Miami Vice" commissioning him to create a mural on the side of a three story building, and used his paintings for interior shots. Apart from a growing number of private commissions, his distinctive images were commissioned by The United Nations Postal Administration in 1998 and 2003. His stamps brought awareness to the growing extinction of the rainforest and its inhabitants, and followed with the 50th Anniversary of the World Health Organization, bringing awareness to the vanishing supply of freshwater, where it earned him the prestige of the most beautiful stamp series of 2003. Garcia was chosen as an "Absolut Artist of the 90s" in the popular vodka ad campaign and with his second piece Absolut Electric, this further drew worldwide attention. 1998, 1999, and 2001 garnered him the distinction of official artist to The Grammy Awards where his creations influenced the look of the live broadcast and graced the covers of the official program book, CDs, posters, apparel, and other various items. His work included portraits of stars such as Destiny's Child, Ricky Martin, Coldplay, Santana, Celia Cruz...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Abstract Prints

Materials

Archival Ink, Rag Paper, Digital