September 1st - October 20th

Closing reception: October 19th, 6-7:30

100 Montessori Pl, Rensselaer, NY 

The robots in this exhibition are inspired by a spirit of play, using Legos as sketching tools to arrive at complex automations that can reconfigure themselves into new design composi­tions. These generative art robots are designed with 3D modeling software, fabricated with 3D printers and em­bedded with robotic technology to constantly transform themselves into new colorful arrangements. The robots pay homage to mid 20th century aesthetics and philoso­phies, mixing Modernism and Bauhaus principles with early 21st century technologies. In this way, the robots have been designed and programmed with playful, often unseen movements, reflecting their toy origins and cele­brating play in a variety of relative forms.

From robots that hold protests, extruders that birth populations and machines that are designed for the dead to operate, Fernando Orellana has collaborated with automation for over twenty years to create transmedia artwork. As a machine designer, a technologist and a user, Orellana has blurred the line between himself and the machine in the creative process. The imagery and narrative that Orellana explores spans a spectrum that includes giving agency to automata, embraces the generatively made, celebrates the wonder of absurdity and is most often driven by the universes of his subconscious mind. He has exhibited at a variety of regional, national and international venues, most recently at the Toledo Museum of Art, the Speed Art Museum, the Spring Break Art Show and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art. He received a Master of Fine Art from The Ohio State University, a Bachelor of Fine Art at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and is currently an Associate Professor of Digital Art in the Visual Arts Department at Union College. He was born in El Salvador, San Salvador.

On view by appointment only

Contact emily@collarworks.org to schedule an appointment