{"id":648385,"date":"2026-10-16T16:40:19","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T16:40:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/648385\/"},"modified":"2026-10-16T16:40:19","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T16:40:19","slug":"robin-f-williams-suspends-the-allure-and-horror-of-technology-in-an-endless-loop-colossal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/648385\/","title":{"rendered":"Robin F. Williams Suspends the Allure and Horror of Technology in an Endless Loop \u2014 Colossal"},"content":{"rendered":"

A nude figure with frazzled hair lies in bed, the sickly colored linens draped across their upper body. Fingertips glowing red as if inflamed, the character grasps a navy phone and stares catatonically at the screen. A vibrant infinity symbol is superimposed on the scene, emerging as endless loops of energy and mesmerization from the device.<\/p>\n

The all-too-relatable portrait is part of a suite of new works by Robin F. Williams<\/a> capturing the omnipotent techno-dystopia we\u2019re collectively barreling toward. Extrapolating on the ways humanity and machines merge, the Brooklyn-based artist presents a mystical vision of another world infused with pop culture and art history. <\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>\u201cMerminator\u201d (2026), oil on linen, 60 x 40 inches<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Merminator,\u201d for example, combines two characters of the \u201980s\u2014a cyborg assassin and a Disney princess\u2014to form a metallic bot perched on a stone as it, like Ariel, peers toward a world it presumably longs to be part of and yet won\u2019t be accepted in. <\/p>\n

There\u2019s also \u201cI Am Not a Robot,\u201d a symmetric piece that takes cues in composition and color palette from the spiritualist abstractions of Hilma af Klint<\/a>. The painting also draws from Boticelli\u2019s \u201cMadonna of the Pomegranate<\/a>,\u201d which presents the titular fruit as a visual metaphor for the human heart. In Williams\u2019 iteration, though, the subject is the phone, radiating outward in place of the life-giving source.<\/p>\n

Under the fitting title Act Natural, the body of work plunges into the uncanny without settling into the strange state of things. The too-sleek, frictionless world the artist portrays exudes the allure of technology alongside the immense horror it elicits.<\/p>\n

P\u00b7P\u00b7O\u00b7W<\/a> presents Act Natural as a pop-up at Frieze\u2019s No. 9 Cork Street in London, where it\u2019s on view through October 24. Explore more of Williams\u2019 work on Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>\u201cHoly Thirst Trap\u201d (2026), oil on linen, 42 x 30 inches<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>\u201cI Am Not a Robot\u201d (2026), acrylic and oil on canvas, 48 x 48 inches<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>\u201cLanguage Model\u201d (2026), oil on canvas, 60 x 54 inches<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>\u201cSpooky Action at a Distance\u201d (2026), acrylic and oil on canvas, 60 x 44 inches<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>Detail of \u201cInfinite Scroll\u201d (2026)<\/p>\n

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