Harlem, NYC – April 28th opened the latest in-person exhibition by Chicago-based experimental art collective (art)n. “Brain+ Love+” marks the group’s first solo show in three years with a sweeping survey of 15 artworks dating from 2001 to 2020, created with nontraditional materials and methods including VR experiences and Sandor’s proprietary PHSColograms–prototypical images of virtual reality invented in the 1980s. “Brain+ Love+” remains on view through June 25th at boutique art space ilon Art Gallery in Harlem, NYC.

After earning her MFA in Sculpture from SAIC in 1975, Sandor completed a commission for the first-ever large scale 3D postcard, re-focusing her existing neon and sculptural practice on more revolutionary media. Sandor founded (art)n in the early 1980s and perfected the methodology for PHSColograms, which digitally interleave views captured with photography, holography, sculpture and computer graphics to render scenes with iridescence and dimension. As PHSColograms and VR are necessarily collaborative endeavors, (art)n formally facilitates collaborations. Notable partners include Fermilab, Scripps Research Institute, and NASA Ames.

Time has transformed Sandor’s practice from an intellectual, vocational exploration into a deeply personal pursuit. Witnessing the AIDs epidemic, her friends’ struggles with cancer, and her own grandson Caleb Sandor Taub’s challenges with nonverbal autism inspired Sandor to harness her creativity and push scientists to see new angles in their own research. As such, (art)n has transcended the art making at their core by working directly with scientists in their labs to catalyze new directions in burgeoning research.

“Brain+ Love+” presents PHSColograms like “Crypto Biology: Reconstructing Identity” (2001) and “Brain + Love” 2010, shimmering and shifting as viewers navigate each work. “Pruning of the Neuronal Forest” & “Mighty Microglia” (2019) pair PHSColograms with sculpted frames, inspiring one of two VR experiences on an Oculus rift that transport viewers into (art)n’s visual universe–the depths of neuroscience. Six smaller PHSColograms from the early 2000s highlight Sandor’s collaboration with the late Chicago Imagist painters and outsider artist Mr. Imagination. Sandor continues this legacy by working with trailblazing women in STEM like Nobel Prize recipient Jennifer Doudna, Beth Stevens, Cynthia K. Thompson, Carolina Cruz-Neira and mentoring women in new media to be fearless with their life's work and pursuing their dreams.

ABOUT (art)n

(art)n is a tech savvy and scientifically-minded collaborative art organization and working lab space in Chicago, IL. Since its founding by Ellen Sandor in the 1980s, major themes (art)n has explored include breakthroughs in STEM and art, alongside visual history, art history and tolerance. The (art)n group primarily works with PHSColograms as immersive, backlit digital 3D photos, PHSCologram sculpture installations, and related VR experiences.

The works of Ellen Sandor and (art)n have been exhibited internationally and are in the permanent collection of The Art Institute of Chicago, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, International Center of Photography, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Victoria & Albert Museum, Fermilab, Smart Museum of Art–University of Chicago, Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art–The University of Oklahoma, and private collections. Commissions include: The Smithsonian Institution, Museum of Jewish Heritage–A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, The City of Chicago Public Art Program, State of Illinois Art-in-Architecture Program, and SmithBucklin Corporation.

ABOUT Ellen Sandor

Ellen Sandor is a new media artist, and Founder/Director of the collaborative artists’ group, (art)n. In 1975, she received an MFA in Sculpture from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her MFA studies at SAIC led her to explore the relationship between photography, sculpture, and video art, while being inspired by the spiritual nature of Outsider Art. In the early 1980s, Sandor had the unique vision to integrate these elements with nascent art forms including computer graphics, resulting in a new medium she called PHSColograms–3D barrier-screen computer-generated photographs and sculptures.

Sandor co-invented U.S. and international patents awarded for the PHSCologram process. She co-authored published papers in Computers & Graphics, IEEE and SPIE. She is a recent Visiting Scholar of Culture & Society, National Center for Supercomputing Applications, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. In 2014, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In 2016, she was awarded Fermilab's Artist in Residence. In 2017, she was honored by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists for her longstanding commitment to integrating art and science. She is co-editor and contributor of the herstory book: New Media Futures: The Rise of Women in the Digital Arts, University of Illinois Press.

Sandor is additionally Chair of the Advisory Board of the Gene Siskel Film Center–School of the Art Institute of Chicago; Board Member, Governors for the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; and Life Trustee, The Art Institute of Chicago. She is Secretary of the Board of Eyebeam; Board Member, American Friends Musée d’Orsay; and Board Member, Fred Jones Museum of Art–The University of Oklahoma. In 2012, she received the Thomas R. Leavens Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts through Lawyers for the Creative Arts. In 2013, she received the Gene Siskel Film Center Outstanding Leadership Award. She is also co-founder of the Richard and Ellen Sandor Family Collection,

ABOUT ilon Art Gallery & Loni Efron

ilon Art Gallery opened its doors to create a space for artists and art enthusiasts to congregate over great art. Situated in a historic brownstone with rich original details, ilon art gallery is a boutique fine art gallery in the heart of Harlem, New York City. Debuting as a fine art photography gallery in 2014, the gallery opened fresh doors after a pandemic reset, refocusing its program on painting, street and outsider art. In 2021 ilon Art Gallery went virtual and added a storefront on Artsy. Always true to our roots while at the forefront of technology, in 2022 ilon Art Gallery’s NFT shop opened. At the gallery, Founder & Director Loni Efron has curated nearly two dozen exhibitions working with emerging and world renowned photographers and artists.

Efron has always recognized the importance of technology in creating art, as well as preserving it. Before ilon Art Gallery was ilon and Company, which started in 1996 with two clients–Annie Leibovitz and David LaChappelle, one of the first archive firms in the country. Adding new artists all the time, the roster has grown to include legends like Joel Meyerowitz, Robert Mapplethorpe, Mark Seliger and Keith Richards. Her mission remains; to preserve and monetize artists’ archives and create a legacy while always employing current technological solutions. As a software developer, Efron created iArchive database as a complete database archive solution for artists.

Efron has been a professional archivist and photo editor/curator for nearly three decades, working with the top artists, living and deceased. Please visit www.ilon.com and @loni_thearchivist on Instagram.

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