Artist Statement
Dying and birthing for generations upon generation, always arriving at a question,
we hurtle through space and time, helplessly out of control. Approaching the future
at an ever-increasing pace and plugged into one another ingenuously, we perpetually
dismantle and assemble each other. Along the way encountering irregular moments
of nirvana, keeping us interested and entertained.
It is through this prism that my recent artwork is born. Taking on varying forms and
mediums, the visions that have surfaced of late lean towards conversations about
the nature of reality, our place on the mortal coil, the relationship and
communications we share with each another, and what may lie beyond the shackles
of the living. Like the prisoners of Socrates’ cave, what dreams may come as we
reawaken from the shadows into the blinding light?
Fernando Orellana is an Assistant Professor of Digital Art at Union College in
Schenectady, NY, Fernando Orellana uses new and traditional media as a way
of transmittingconcepts that range from generative art to social-political commentary.
He has recently exhibited at the Cultural Center of Spain in El Salvador, Museu dʼArt
Schenectady, NY, Fernando Orellana uses new and traditional media as a way
of transmittingconcepts that range from generative art to social-political commentary.
He has recently exhibited at the Cultural Center of Spain in El Salvador, Museu dʼArt
Contemporani de Barcelona (Spain), Carrie Haddad Gallery (New York), Espacio
Fundación Telefónica (Argentina), Exit Art (New York), LABoral, (Spain), The
Tang Museum of Art, (New York), Glass Curtain Gallery (Chicago), The Ark
(Ireland), and The Biennial of Electronic Art (Australia).
His work is part of several art collections including the Richard and Ellen Sandor
family collection Chicago, IL., The Ohio State University Student Union
Collection, and The Western Michigan University Collection.
He has been reviewed in a variety of publications and catalogs including
ARTnews, Digital by Design, EMERGENTES, Art in America, Art Review,
Slashdot, We-Make-Money-Not-Art, Today’s Machining World, MAKE:
Technology on your Time, Technikart Futur, Wired Online, CNN, and NPR,
WBEZ.
He is the recipient of a 2009, New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in
Digital/Electronic Arts and a 2010 Full Fellowship Award at the Vermont Studio
Center, Johnson, VT.
He received a Master of Fine Art from The Ohio State University and a Bachelor
of Fine Art with honors at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He was born
in El Salvador, San Salvador and currently lives in Troy, New York.
For a complete CV and recent artwork see: www.fernandoorellana.com
ON VIEW • FEB 21 - APRIL 1, 2011
WORKSHOPS • FEB 21 - 25
ARTIST TALK • FEB. 24 • 1PM
ARTIST RECEPTION • FEB 24 • 4 - 6PM
Made possible with the generous support of The Presidential Performing and Visual Arts Series
