Size: 36"x48"
Year: 2025
This piece reflects my conflicted feelings about digital technology—its power to enhance and disrupt our lives. It keeps us connected and informed at the click of a button, yet it also narrows our perception, degrades our natural environments, and blinds us to so much more. It feels like a tool inching closer to replacing us and the places we love. But art reminds me that won’t ever truly happen.
These thoughts surfaced as I painted this portrait of my dear friend David. We once worked together at a digital marketing company in Salt Lake City, but the pandemic changed everything—in ways both good and bad, and in ways we probably still don't fully understand. He now lives in a small town in Idaho, closer to nature and the things that bring him joy. Despite the distance, we stay connected, reflecting and commiserating on the complexities of existing both online and offline in today’s world.
About the Artist
Taner Paşamehmetoğlu is a multidisciplinary artist based in Sacramento who uses storytelling and symbolism to explore themes of identity, belonging and sustainability—both of the environment and his heritage.
As a second-generation American who lived in New Mexico, Idaho and Utah before
settling in California, Taner’s life has been profoundly shaped by the dynamic landscapes and history of the American West. Nature not only inspires his work but often acts as a collaborator, as he incorporates repurposed materials and organic effects like wind, heat and rain into his creative practice.
Taner aims to create conversation and community and invites us to reflect on what it means to preserve the places we call home and the stories that connect us.