Join exhibiting artist Jason Salavon for an in-person gallery talk reflecting on his 2002 work, Every Playboy Centerfold, The 1980s (normalized)—currently on display in Smart to the Core: Medium / Image—and his broader artistic practice.

The talk will be followed by a Q and A session.

FREE, but space is limited for this in-person event. Please register in advance.  

This exhibition and related programs are organized by the Smart Museum’s Feitler Center for Academic Inquiry. 

About the Artist

Using software processes of his own design, Jason Salavon generates and reconfigures masses of communal material to present new perspectives on the familiar. Though formally varied, his projects frequently manipulate the roles of individual elements arranged in diverse visual populations. This often unearths unexpected patterns as the relationship between the part and the whole, the individual and the group, is explored. Reflecting a natural attraction to popular culture and the day-to-day, his work regularly incorporates the use of common references and source material. The final compositions are exhibited as art objects, such as photographic prints and video installations, while others exist in a real-time software context.

Born in Indiana (1970), raised in Texas, and based in Chicago, Salavon earned his MFA at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and his BA from The University of Texas at Austin. His work has been shown in museums and galleries around the world. Reviews of his exhibitions have been included in such publications as Artforum, Art in America, The New York Times, and WIRED. Examples of his artwork are included in prominent public and private collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago, among many others.

Previously, he taught at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and was employed for numerous years as an artist and programmer in the video game industry. He is currently associate professor in the Department of Visual Arts and the Computation Institute at the University of Chicago.

Images
Jason Salavon, Every Playboy Centerfold, The 1980s (normalized), 2002, Digital chromogenic print, Ed. 5 + 2 APs, 60" x 29.25", Courtesy of the artist. 

Photo of Jason Salavon, courtesy of the artist.