Biography
Tabor Robak uses computer-generated imagery to create multi-channel video installations and generative works. Working with software such as Unity, After Effects and Cinema 4D, he builds meticulously rendered environments from both purchased and hand-modelled elements in what he calls a 'Photoshop tutorial aesthetic'. His installations often incorporate novel technology, from transparent television screens to custom-built computers that run his procedurally generated works in real time. Drawing on the visual vocabulary of video games, advertising and animated film, he explores the tension between human nature and technology, from mass media and late capitalism to, more recently, the commodification of labour and the rise of artificial intelligence. Robak is also active in blockchain art, where several of his generative collections have sold out, and has collaborated with brands including Maison Margiela, Balenciaga and Microsoft.
Born in Portland, Oregon, in 1986, Robak lives and works in Paris. He received his BFA from the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland. His work has been shown at institutions including the Museum of Modern Art and MoMA PS1 in New York, Serpentine Galleries in London, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst in Zurich, the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo and Kunstmuseum Den Haag, as well as at the 12th Lyon Biennale. It is held in collections including the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Serpentine Galleries in London, the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and the Portland Art Museum.