Nigel Clouse: Life's a Glitch

{9} THE GALLERY PRESENTS NIGEL CLOUSE: LIFE’S A GLITCH

Phoenix, AZ, January 22, 2019 – {9} the Gallery debuts an immersive new series, Life’s a Glitch by digital artist Nigel Clouse, opening First Friday, February 1st, 6-10 PM at {9} The Gallery, 1229 Grand Avenue, Phoenix, AZ. Life’s a Glitch highlights the everyday anomalies which occur in analog and digital media؅—causing audio and visual distortions—“glitches”; the unique—often individualistic—errors within reality where chance, chaos, and aesthetic combine to form art.

“I believe glitches embody the degradation of the reality we inhabit and illustrate the systemic failure and unraveling of society, humanity, and the universe. These random anomalies often jar witnesses from their programming by distorting the perceived concreteness of existence. I identify with the glitch as it has always been within my environment and has progressed with me throughout my life in various forms.” – Nigel Clouse

This exhibit is a culmination of the past 5 years of Clouse’s work developing the glitch as a refined art form and means of expression. To embrace the glitch is to appreciate the chaotic essence of life within our simulated universe.

Nigel Clouse is best known for his inclusion of distorted graphic elements within his work and the continuous evolution of the glitch as an artistic form of expression. Clouse works primarily in digital media, creating visually distinctive work through the manipulation of appropriated pop culture imagery, femme fatales, and the use of a bold color palette. He spends dozens of hours creating work at the pixel level to achieve his signature visual style. The artist’s work often examines the influence of technology on humanity, societal decay, greed, and other dystopian themes stemming from his childhood spent living in the deteriorating American Rust Belt.

“My work is based upon a childhood spent in the American Midwest. I experienced life in a small rural community where, much like in Grover’s Corners, time seemed inconsequential. Unfortunately, this once thriving town built on the glass industry was slowly decaying as manufacturing jobs left the United States or became automated—leaving blue-collar families with little more than a subsistence lifestyle.

The rural landscape of my youth is juxtaposed with the urban environments I have inhabited working for corporate America as an adult. I have witnessed ethical lapses, dehumanization, and declining social mobility caused by the Great Recession and greed of the ruling class. These experiences heavily influence my art, which is composed of glitched graphics, femme fatales, and popular culture references.” – Nigel Clouse

Clouse, who holds a Bachelor of Fine Art degree in Digital Design from the Art Academy of Cincinnati, is influenced by a variety of artists, including Andy Warhol, Tom Wesselmann, Roy Lichtenstein, H. R. Giger, and Wassily Kandinsky.

Life’s a Glitch runs through the month of February at {9} The Gallery.