Exhibiting Artist

Neil Gainer

neil.lumpen@gmail.com

NeilGainer.com

IG: west_neil_virus

FB: Neil Gainer

Artist Bio

Neil Gainer is a multi-disciplinary artist and musician in the Chicago Metropolitan area. Born in Hammond, Indiana, he grew up between worlds, from the rural lands of Indiana, and the impoverished and forgotten industry-based communities along the South Shore, to the economic center of the Midwest (Chicago.) This disparity in socioeconomic status directly influenced his upbringing as well as his art practice. He has curated and participated in exhibitions across the midwest.

Artist Statement

In my work, I utilize visual illusions and ambiguous symbols to criticize tropes within society and unify us through our commonality. Semantic satiation is the phenomenon that allows the repetition of a word to alter or destroy its meaning temporarily. By harnessing this phenomenon, I aim to create a break or lapse in one's perception to shed light upon our collective desensitization to wonder and our sordid history with the concept of value. I am particularly interested in the cultural and social workings of people; through a bifurcated lens, I aim to highlight the deficiencies of our culture to strengthen our bonds with one another.

Show Description

“What’s Next?” Is an exhibition that aims to criticize the cognitive dissonance clouding our collective judgement of what human life, “should be,” by highlighting the shortcomings of our transportation infrastructure. Following the close of World War II, the US Government as well as many other municipalities across the globe began redesigning their cities, not around people, but around the automobile. Soon thereafter, the democratization of transportation became a thing of the past. Vast highway systems began to split the hearts of America’s greatest cities, and segregated them along the way. This century long petroleum fueled tirade has left not only a lasting impact on the culture, but the landscape as well. I utilize images and iconography from American road signs to highlight the changing landscape as well as the toll this takes on our mental health. This exhibition is what I can only describe as a collection of abstracted landscapes— Hi-Vis and asphalt are our new natural surroundings.

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