The View From Mars is a group exhibition curated by Gallery 263 staff. In The View From Mars, the featured artists explore the extraterrestrial gaze—imagined through the lens of science fiction and surveillance—and delve into the idea that technology has also become a kind of alien force observing and shaping our lives. 

Through painting, fiber art, sculpture, installation, and photography, this group of artists skillfully navigates the intersections of technology, society, and the omnipresent gaze that defines the contemporary world. Douglas Degges paints and draws from cellphone imagery provided by family members to explore digital experiences, the pressure to possess a singular voice or vision, and the concept of home as something immaterial and held within the body. Nicolas Papa imagines what a future landscape painter would witness—and, as such, paints otherworldly environments transformed by climate change. In Carla Fisher Schwartz’s work, the artist looks at how mapping technologies frame experiences of the physical world. These featured artists present a selection of work that confronts and explores the boundaries of privacy, autonomy, and watching, while considering possibilities for the future.

The View From Mars features work by artists who submitted to past calls for the gallery’s Exhibition Proposal Series program, a program in which exhibitions are selected as part of a competitive jury process. The gallery curates one annual exhibition of work featuring a select group of these artists to highlight topical themes presented in exhibition proposals over the course of many submission cycles.

Featured Artists

Olivia Baldwin, Douglas Degges, Adam S Doyle, Carla Fisher Schwartz, Yaming Jiang, Tristan Lajarringe, Julian MacMillan & Scott Lerner (collaboration), Nicolas Papa, Maris Van Vlack, Yolanda Yang, Szu-Chieh Yun