While the artists working in the 1960’s were attempting to ascribe meaning to everyday objects, Harif Guzman aims to give meaning to real life experiences, something that today, in the age of the smartphone, is becoming less and less of value in our daily lives. We feel more impelled to reproduce an experience, lifestyle, dream or attitude, based on those we “experience” on our phones. Here, the idea of authenticity plays a decisive role in determining to what extent does a reproduction, such as an image or object, influence you. What is authenticity in the age of digital reproduction? How have smartphones changed the way we experience authenticity?
Harif Guzman’s paintings challenge those all too often fleeting digital experiences by grounding the viewer in a specific place and time. With a visual style that looks so uncompromisingly authentic, No Experience Necessary questions wether reality is adapted to the masses or the masses to reality.
