FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 2023
Vellum LA Presents Enrique Agudo’s First Solo Exhibition IPSEITY: Speculative Narratives of Identity in a Re-Imagined World
April 6 – May 14, 2023
Vellum LA
7673 Melrose Ave | Los Angeles CA 90046
info@vellumla.com
Thurs – Sun | 1-6 PM
https://www.vellumla.com/enrique-agudo-ipseity
Opening Reception:
April 6, 2023 | 7-9PM
Vellum LA is thrilled to announce Ipseity, Enrique Agudo’s first ever solo exhibition. Curated by Sinziana Velicescu, Agudo’s exhibition features eight works from his Ipseity series along with supporting digital costume renderings on Vellum’s state-of-the-art LED Luma Canvas displays. The 1/1 artworks in the collection will be available for sale as NFTs on SuperRare.
Ipseity is an installation of eight digital paintings by new media artist Enrique Agudo, presenting visualizations of contemporary notions of identity through the depiction of new deities and their environments, presenting allegorical scenes about the human self and our relationship to technology. Inspired by the Pre Raphaelites, these works take on our digital realities in the form of traditional painting, but making use of the most cutting edge technology.
These scenes present integrated generative animations connected to real-time data in which the digital and the physical are connected, reflect and question about the role technology distorts or magnifies our self perception and our place in the world, and how technology might be thought of as a generator of human culture, a tool for expansion of human identity and not merely a dooming resource with an apocalyptic price.
This project is the further exploration of The Pantheon of Queer Mythology, a virtual reality short film by the artist, about the visual dreamworlds of Queer identities in contemporary Western cities today, reaching further and questioning aspects of identity such as chosen family, gender identity, youth, sexuality, addiction, wisdom, cultural heritage, self-sabotage among others, and drawing parallels between how we inhabit this burning planet and how we view ourselves.
This project is made by an incredibly diverse team of mostly queer people from all walks of life, and its focus is not to dogmatically represent, but to simply create evocative work that will speak to the audience in one, many or all ways, to experience new media art that speaks to the role of technology in our lives but that is humanistic by design, that might spark introspection about the parallels between how our soul inhabits our bodies and how we inhabit the planet.
By opening eight windows into scenes that are connected, that are never the same, with deities that are speaking to who we are as humans, we create an interesting space between the digital and the physical that fosters curiosity and wonder.
The exhibition will be on view from April 6 to May 14, 2023 with artworks available for sale through SuperRare.
ABOUT ENRIQUE AGUDO
Enrique Agudo’s (b. Madrid, 1989) work explores the limits of digital media. Contemporary culture is infused with digital imagery, and Agudo’s work focuses on the pattern recognition of these digital indexes, shedding light on how they affect the way we behave, and proposing new rituals around technology that expand human culture and folklore in innovative ways. As we see the world through digital interfaces, we are met with thresholds that can distort or diffuse our sense of self, our perception of reality, and our vision for tomorrow. These are new myths in contemporary culture that the artist researches, depicts, and questions, in an effort to gain perspective and make technology a tool of cultural expression.
With an academic background in architecture, Agudo quickly evolved from current urban discourse to speculative worldbuilding, moving from architectural projects to research-driven storytelling. He worked alongside his mentors Daniel Canogar and Liam Young for many years, before establishing his own practice in Los Angeles in 2021. His work therefore looks through an architectural lens at future anthropological issues, reflected through fashion, new media, installation, animation, sculpture, AR or VR.
Agudo is the Creative Director behind The Pantheon of Queer Mythology, a VR short film that headlined at Tribeca Film Festival 2020, Geneva International Film Festival, Cannes XR, was nominated for VR Film of the Year at the VR Awards, and has been exhibited in Serrería Belga in Madrid and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Enrique continues to use immersive and experimental digital media as the tools to question and challenge anthropological discourse around identity with Ipseity, a collection of generative digital paintings connected to real-time data in which the digital medium and physical data are connected in symbiotic exchange. Ipseity at Vellum LA is his first solo exhibition, opening in April 2023. https://enriqueagudo.com/
ABOUT VELLUM LA
Vellum LA is a digital art gallery based in Los Angeles, CA whose goal is to meaningfully situate the digital and crypto art communities within the context of art history, while also educating the public on the potential of blockchain and NFTs to impact the future of art.
Vellum’s emphasis on physical exhibition is core to their approach— whether by displaying artwork on our state-of-the-art LED displays, curating and creating site specific immersive experiences, or taking over larger-scale media installations around the world, Vellum aims to reinvent how digital art is experienced in the physical world. www.vellumla.com
ABOUT LUMA CANVAS
Luma Canvas is a museum-grade LED display designed specifically for digital art and NFTs. Bringing artwork to life through the widest color gamut available and an unparalleled 160- degree viewing angle, Luma Canvas boasts resilient LED technology and is immediately more vivid than the highest caliber of TV displays. https://lumacanvas.com/
