EDGES OF THE SELF

OVERVIEW

​​

Sean BW Parker’s practice unfolds at the intersection of intuition, cultural consciousness, and the persistent question of what constitutes the “human” in an era of algorithmic reproduction. Rejecting the linear logic of concept-first creation, Parker embraces a methodology in which the work emerges prior to its interpretation, an approach that situates painting not as an illustration of thought, but as a site where thought is materially formed. His process, articulated as “make, then see what I’ve made,” foregrounds the subconscious as a generative engine, allowing gesture, accident, and immediacy to supersede predetermined meaning.

​

Within this collection, portraiture and abstraction operate as parallel modes of inquiry. The portraits absorb and refract the cultural milieu, rendering contemporary subjectivity not as a fixed identity but as a field of ongoing negotiation. The abstracts, conversely, emphasize the autonomy of paint, its capacity to think, resist, and communicate in ways that elude linguistic description. Together, they probe the porous boundary between figuration and atmosphere, selfhood and context, intuition and critique.

​​

Crucially, Parker’s recent insistence that a work is “successful” only insofar as it could not have been produced by artificial intelligence invites a deeper theoretical provocation. It positions his paintings as assertions of irreproducibility, gestural, temporal, and sensorial events that retain the trace of a human presence irreducible to data or simulation. In doing so, the collection interrogates not only what images depict, but how they are made, and by whom. Parker’s work therefore contributes to broader discourses surrounding authorship, embodiment, and artistic agency in the post-digital condition, offering paintings that are as much reflections on the state of contemporary visual culture as they are expressions of an instinctive, lived practice.

​

ORGANIZED BY

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Executive Director: Isabell Sliwinski

Chief Curator: Isabelle Brett

Curator: Pablo Peltier

Curatorial Assistant: Yukang Tao

​​

​

SPONSOR GRATITUDE​

​

To continue our programs for up and coming artists at the lowest possible cost, we rely on donations and memberships from charitable art patrons like yourself. To sponsor an upcoming exhibition, become a member, or make a donation, visit our "giving" page to learn more and help champion contemporary art for as little as $10. As a 501(c)3 nonprofit, donations are tax deductible.

VIRTUAL EXHIBITION​​