These days, it's impossible to get away from technology. With our lighter-than-air laptops, handy smart phones, and the incessant need to stay connected, it seems only natural that people have grown distant from the world around them. Instead, they get most of their exposure to nature phenomena through the lens of a digital screen. This is precisely the idea painter Scott Greenwalt and art duo Smith|Allen set out to explore in their upcoming "Degeneration/Regeneration" exhibition at Loakal Art Gallery in Oakland, Calif.
Although Greenwalt's large-scale, acrylic paintings are definitely abstract, you can still make out his allusions to nature. His paintings evoke cells viewed under a microscope, geological formations, plant roots, and galactic scenes, though all of them somehow also resemble data. Juxtaposed with an installation of living plants, Greenwalt's component of the show offers a look at nature versus technology and the very name of the exhibition: degeneration versus regeneration.
On the other hand, Smith|Allen is a duo made up of sculptor and installation artist Stephanie Smith and architect-designer Bryan Allen. The two have combined their skills to create 3D-printed installations inspired by the environment around them. Their latest piece, for example, is "degen1." It's been printed with materials that wil decay within 50 years.
"Degeneration/Regeneration" opens May 2 and will be on view until June 2. Click through to see some of the nature-tech artworks above.
