EMILIE DUVAL
LANDSCAPES OF DIGITAL EXISTENCES
FEBRUARY 1 TO MARCH 22, 2025
ARTIST RECEPTION:
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2025
2 P.M. TO 6 P.M.
PATRICK MIKHAIL is pleased to present LANDSCAPES OF DIGITAL EXISTENCES by Houston multi-media artist EMILIE DUVAL.
Landscapes of Digital Existences is a meditation on the delicate tension between nostalgia and technological transformation, where the imagery of utopian mid-century modernity collides with the fragmented, transient nature of our digital age. In this series, I reimagine iconic motifs, palm trees, modernist architecture, and serene landscapes, disrupted and reframed by digital textures and abstract distortions. The result is a vision of paradise that feels both aspirational and disquieting, familiar yet unraveling under the weight of modern complexities.
Each painting in this series is meticulously crafted to mirror this conceptual layering. I build the surface with layers of acrylic paint, creating bold structures that act as the foundation of the work. Drawings and collages, sourced and altered to evoke both memory and invention, are integrated into the composition, merging seamlessly into the painted environment. Spray paint adds a raw, gestural energy, creating moments of spontaneity and dissonance. This multi- layered approach reflects the fragmentation of perception in a world where the organic and the artificial are increasingly intertwined.
Influenced by David Hockney’s vibrant use of color and spatial precision, I reinterpret his aesthetic not as a celebration of simplicity but as a means to probe the instability of beauty and the disruptions of modern life. I invite viewers to question the landscapes we construct, consume, and inhabit, both real and imagined and to consider how the ideals of the past are reshaped, perhaps even undone, by the forces of our digital present.