While participating in an art residency in Lisbon, ATLAS Assistant Professor Joel Swanson is working on a new body of work, “The Distance Between Words,” which explores the various ways to measure the distance within texts: physically, semantically and durationally. Sponsored through Hangar: Centro de Investigação Artistica, an artistic research center located in Graça, Lisbon, the residency runs April 24–May 29.
"In addition to working on this project, I'm enjoying exploring the libraries and archives of Lisbon, engaging with the local art community and eating dozens of Pastéis de Nata," Swanson says.
Swanson's research and teaching interests includes digital art, digital media theory, design and typography. He teaches digital art, media theory and the history of design for the Creative Technology and Design (CTD) program, and his work intersects language and technology.
His newest body of work is also funded by Denver's New Collection, which offers grants and collaborations that "give artists the support they need to do something fundamentally different and new."
Swanson's artwork has been exhibited nationally and internationally at institutions such as the Broad Museum in Lansing, The Power Plant in Toronto, the Glucksman in Cork, Ireland and the North Miami Museum of Contemporary Art. In 2014 Swanson had a solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver. In 2017 he showed work in Personal Structures, an official satellite show of the 57th Venice Biennale.
"The Distance Between Words" will be exhibited in Denver in September.
