Carla Gannis' Portraits In Landscape Comes to Times Square

In a contemporary remix of Giuseppe Arcimboldo's 16th-century portraits in which animals, vegetables, flowers, and books combine into human faces, Gannis composites thousands of her own digitally-painted emoji to depict two animated figures in a twinkling landscape. Immersed in their smart phones and snapping photos, they may seem uncannily familiar to viewers in Times Square.

Carla Gannis (b. 1970, lives and works in New York City) received an MFA in painting from Boston University, and is faculty and the assistant chairperson of The Department of Digital Arts at Pratt Institute. Upon her arrival to New York in the 1990s, Gannis began incorporating digital elements into her painting-based practice. Gannis's work has appeared in numerous exhibitions and screenings, nationally and internationally. Recent screenings, commissions and solo exhibitions include "Sunrise/Sunset," Whitney Museum of Art, NY; "Until the End of the World," DAM Gallery, Berlin; "A Subject Self-Defined," TRANSFER Gallery, Brooklyn; and "The Garden of Emoji Delights," Hudson River Museum, Yonkers. Gannis's work has been featured in press and publications including ARTnews, The Creators Project, Wired, FastCo, Hyperallergic, Art F City, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and The LA Times. www.carlagannis.com

Times Square Arts, the public art program of the Times Square Alliance, collaborates with contemporary artists and cultural institutions to experiment and engage with one of the world's most iconic urban places. Through the Square's electronic billboards, public plazas, vacant areas and popular venues, and the Alliance's own online landscape, Times Square Arts invites leading contemporary creators to help the public see Times Square in new ways. Times Square has always been a place of risk, innovation and creativity, and the Arts Program ensures these qualities remain central to the district's unique identity. Generous support of Times Square Arts is provided in part by the National Endowment for the Arts; by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; and by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. Visit TimesSquareNYC.org/Arts for more information. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at@TSqArts.

Times Square Advertising Coalition (TSAC) is a trade association comprised of major advertisers, retailers, real estate firms, media companies and other businesses involved in the outdoor sign industry in Times Square, along with organizations representing Broadway and the community. Members of TSAC include: ABC Regional Sports & Entertainment Sales, Clear Channel Spectacolor, Daktronics, D3 LED, Digital Domination, Hines Management, Jamestown One Times Square, Lamar Advertising Company, Landmark Sign & Electric, Metro Media Technologies, Newmark Knight Frank, North Shore Neon, P.R.omotion!, Sherwood Outdoor, SL Green, Times Square Alliance, The WOW Factor and Thomson Reuters. www.timessquareadcoalition.org. Follow TSAC on twitter at @TSACNYC.