Joan Linder, “Fulfillment”

Buffalo Arts Studio is excited to present “Fulfillment” by Joan Linder. “Fulfillment’s” drawings examine aspects of the hidden-in-plain-sight landscape of e-commerce, cloud computing, crypto-mining, and the legal contracts that bind us to these technology systems. This exhibition is a part of “Waterfront View,” a series of exhibitions, workshops, and panel conversations that examine how late-stage capitalism has shifted the view of water and waterways from a resource of collective benefit to a commodity of individual interest and shareholder profit. 

“Fulfillment” is on display September 27&November 9, 2024, with an opening reception on Friday, September 27, 5:00&8:00 pm. 

For “Fulfillment,” Linder visited e-commerce businesses in Buffalo and Niagara Falls, NY and drew the sites while sitting in her parked car outside the buildings. The resulting drawings of crypto-mining warehouses, cloud computing server farms, fulfillment centers, and surrounding neighborhoods are spread across 144 inch accordion books. The landscapes are accompanied by hand-drawn text facsimiles of “terms of service” and “email communications” with digital platforms. Completing the exhibition are handmade paper reproductions of discarded Amazon shipping boxes. Made from ink, paint, and watercolor on archival cotton paper, the boxes form near-perfect replicas of the actual objects. In examining the multiple components of the e-commerce supply chain, “Fulfillment” highlights the heavy physical toll carried by our digital behaviors.

Joan Linder’s artwork has been exhibited internationally at institutions, including at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, The Faulconer Gallery, Grinnell College, IA, the Institute for the Humanities at the University of Michigan, and Mixed Greens Gallery. Linder was a recipient of the Pollock-Krasner Foundation and a 2024 NYSCA Support for Artists grants.

For more information about Buffalo Arts Studio, please visit www.buffaloartsstudio.org