OPENING RECEPTION:
Friday 28.2. 18:00-20:00
Opening reception drinks sponsored by Solmu Brewery.
EXHIBITION ON VIEW:
1.3.-23.3.2025
Galleria 3H+K
Yrjönkatu 4, 28100 Pori
GALLERY HOURS:
wed–fri 12–18, sat–sun 12–16
Alex Markwith, “A Meditation on Strategy, Mortality and Illusion”, 2025, acrylic, spray paint and digital prints on canvas, 100x120cm
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ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
“Synthetic Visions” continues Markwith’s explores the intersection of painting, collage, and AI-generated imagery derived from Markwith’s own works.
Blurring the lines between abstraction and representation, Synthetic Visions delves into themes of power, mortality, and transformation. Recurring motifs include skulls and chessboards. Skulls reference the classical memento mori while nodding to the physical human body AI lacks. The chessboard represents both a structured system of rules and a battlefield on which opponents compete for dominance. In Markwith’s paintings, the game appears to play itself—figures dissolve, pieces decay, and the boundaries between organic and artificial blur.
Markwith employs diverse techniques in his process. Some works incorporate torn digital prints layered with paint and collage on canvas, while others are entirely hand-painted reinterpretations of AI-generated imagery which may in turn be photographed and fed back to the algorithm. This recursive dialogue between control and automation highlights the role of artistic agency in an era of technological experimentation.
Synthetic Visions engages with the broader philosophical implications of technology’s role in creative practice. How does AI shape or distort artistic intent? What would it mean for AI to be truly creative? While Markwith integrates AI into his practice, the work implicitly addresses discussions of authorship, ethics, and control in the digital age.
Alex Markwith lives and works in Helsinki. Previously based in New York City, his work has been shown internationally in over sixty exhibitions and is held in numerous public and private collections.
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Alex Markwith, Power Distance (Collapse, Royal Shadow), 2025
Acrylic, paper and digital print on canvas, 30x30cm