Elegy of the Last Republic 008 [flesh], 2017 Painting

Cody Bayne is an Artist based in Los Angeles. He has exhibited his work extensively across the United States, Canada, and Europe, and is known for his interdisciplinary approach to art-making. His practice encompasses painting, mixed media, sculpture, and new media, all of which he uses to explore themes of time, impermanence, identity, and place. Bayne's work is characterized by a personal visual language that creates intellectual and emotional connections with the viewer. He often uses materials sourced from various cities around the world to create a visual vernacular that is both familiar and foreign. His work is influenced by 20th-century art movements such as Nouveau Réalisme and Art Informel, and he has coined the terms Neo-Urban Expressionism and Urban Informalism as quantifiers for his physical practice. Bayne's artistic process involves "harvesting" information from the environment of the city and reassembling materials into compositions that reflect his interest in the beauty of flaws and the discarded. He balances formulaic parameters with action-oriented processes, and allows immediacy and accidental interventions to play a strong role in the making of his work. His artist hand is discernible in all his work, serving as a symbol of both humanity and the distressed conditions and environments that inspire him. Though Bayne does not intentionally approach his work through a filter of social commentary, he is keenly aware that the poetry of the metropolis leads to this conversation. His work is contemporary and academic, addressing impermanence, coded vernaculars, identity, and place. Through his art, Bayne strives to create a visual dialogue that transposes from walls, streets, and a personal language, and fosters a connection between contemporary art and cultural intersectionality.