Image showing art themed as a vintage video game.

Pixelated: Sculpture by Mike Whiting

Sculptures created within the pixelated aesthetic of vintage video games are featured throughout the Gardens’ natural landscapes.

April 28 - Sept. 23, 2018

Included with admission

Pixelated explores the relationships between the natural world and the artificial world of digital media. Mike Whiting says “Gardens are in their own way virtual spaces—carefully created environments. The contrast of the sculptures’ geometric and manmade materials can seem at odds with the gardens, but they are connected in the dialogue about the re-presentation of nature.”

Whiting’s sculptures also represent the intersection of two distinct visual styles: 8-bit pixel graphics—which have enjoyed a recent resurgence in games like "Minecraft"—and minimalist sculpture. Technological limitations in early video games like "Pac-Man" and "Space Invaders" reduced the graphics to simplified shapes, while the minimalist art movement created artworks that purposely lacked detail. Pixelated investigates the opposite intents of these two artistic approaches that result in a strikingly similar visual outcome.

Lenders to the exhibition include Mike Whiting, City and County of Denver and Brigham Young University Museum of Art. This exhibition is supported in part by the citizens who support the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD) and is developed in coordination with Plus Gallery, Denver.

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