"Spectralia" by Allison Tanenhaus
JUNE 6 –JULY 3, 2021
TWO pairs of videos will be shown, the first from June 6–20, the second from June 20–July 3.
“Spectralia” honors Pride 2021 in vibrant, exuberant fashion. Bridging public art experience and gallery installation, Allison Tanenhaus’s hypnotic glitches remix the rainbow, then beam out for all to enjoy—across the full spectrum.
Allison’s primary formats include retro-futuristic GIFs, loops, and music videos; abstract public art; street art cat stickers; and large-scale video projections. Source material consists of her original images (cellphone pics, satirical typography, salvaged works in progress) and collected artifacts that she alters via smartphone. Made with equal parts deliberation and experimentation, the results are rainbow-hued compositions that take on a psychedelic life of their own.
At a time when platforms pervasively cull personal data, she views creatively reclaiming files and devices as a radical act of autonomy, mindfulness, and personal ownership.
Allison Tanenhaus (she/her) is a New York–born, Boston–based digital glitch artist. She specializes in bold geometrics, kaleidoscopic color fields, trippy op art, thought-provoking truisms, and unexpected dimensional qualities.
Notable installations and commissions include the ICA Store at the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston; New England Synth Fest; Harvard Graduate School of Design; Boston Convention & Exhibition Center; SaveArtSpace.org; Hotel Studio Allston; and “GlitchKraft: Allison Tanenhaus + Friends” at Emerson Contemporary.
Allison is a 2019 recipient of a Somerville Visual Art Fellowship; frequently creates music videos for electronic musicians The Square Root of Negative Two, Maria Finkelmeier, and Doug Bielmeier; collaborates with musician and glitch artist Sam Correa; pairs with pop-culture portraitist Alex Kittle; and teams up with light artist Ben K. Foley as the optical installation duo bent/haus.