Spotlight artists · PS/NExT Summit 26

The Art of
Transformation

PS/NExT Summit 26 Spotlight Artists Cristopher Cichocki and Glen Wexler explore ecology, technology, perception, and the future of visual culture

Cichocki Wexler

Cristopher
Cichocki

Spotlight overview /

New Earth Art

Fusions of Nature and Industry

Interdisciplinary artist and curator Cristopher Cichocki works at the intersection of painting, land art, light and space, sound, technology, and natural science — examining the cycle of decay and renewal across timelines that stretch from prehistoric oceans to present-day deserts.

In this Artist Spotlight, Cichocki explores how his practice fuses the organic and synthetic, collapsing scale so that macrocosms appear through a microscopic lens. He will discuss Circular Dimensions— his ever-evolving series of audiovisual performances and multi-sensory installations showcased internationally, including Microscape, a five-story commission for the Coachella Music & Arts Festival.

Portrait of Cristopher Cichocki standing before a large glowing blue moon-like sphere.

Selected work /

Circular Dimensions × Microscape — a five-story dome of PVC tubing glowing in fiery orange and magenta against the night sky, a crowd gathered beneath it at the Coachella festival.

Three circular projections of fluorescent microbial imagery — orange, pink-and-blue, and luminous yellow — float in a dark room while the artist works at a console in silhouette.

Close-up — the artist's hand cradles a glowing orb against a wall of softly lit teal spheres, each one pinpricked with a brighter core.

A large luminous teal half-dome sculpture on a darkening beach at sunset, a lone figure silhouetted beside it against an orange horizon.

Desert Sea installation at twilight — a fluorescent orange and magenta tumbleweed-like form rises above a tangle of blue irrigation tubing and aloe in the open desert.

Bio /

Cristopher Cichocki

Artist & Curator

Cristopher Cichocki studied at CalArts and Yale Norfolk School of Art. Rooted in the Coachella Valley for three decades, his work spans exhibitions across North America, South America, Asia, and Europe, with permanent collections including the J. Paul Getty Museum, Palm Springs Art Museum, and the Lancaster Museum of Art.

In 2014, Cichocki founded the curatorial platform Epicenter Projects. In 2020, he partnered with Fondation L’Accolade – Institut de France to establish THE ELEMENTAL, a contemporary center in Palm Springs at the intersection of art, science, and environment — of which he serves as co-founder and director.

circulardimensions.com @cristophercichocki theelemental.org @the_elemental

Glen
Wexler

Spotlight overview /

Photography at the Edge of the Real

From Darkroom to Digital to AI

For nearly five decades, Glen Wexler has blurred the boundaries of photography, craft, illusion, and technology. In this Artist Spotlight Talk, he traces his evolution from traditional darkroom practice to early digital imaging in the 1980s, the integration of CGI in the 1990s, and his current exploration of AI as part of a broader continuum of image-making.

Through work spanning more than 400 album covers, iconic advertising campaigns, and fine-art photography held in major collections, Wexler examines how new tools can expand creative possibility while still being guided by visual intelligence, discipline, authorship, and ethical intention. At a time when AI is rapidly reshaping visual culture, his perspective offers a rare long view of technological change — and a reminder that the future of image-making still depends on the human imagination behind the tool.

Portrait of Glen Wexler, black-and-white, wearing dark sunglasses.

Selected work /

Photographic composite — brilliant white lightning forks down onto a tall central rod in a green field of slender lightning rods, under a heavy, storm-laden sky.

Studio portrait of a woman with platinum and hot-pink teased hair and a broad cobalt-blue brushstroke painted across her eyes, against a blue ground.

Moody black-and-white composite of two airships drifting low over a dark, choppy sea beneath a heavy clouded sky.

A circular porthole opening through dense infrared-red foliage onto a still turquoise lake ringed by pale mountains.

Photographic composite — a winged figure with articulated metal wings soars away from a towering industrial structure, out over a vast silver sea and overcast sky.

Bio /

Glen Wexler

Photographic Artist · Digital Imaging Pioneer

Born and raised in Palm Springs, Glen Wexler is a photographic artist who has spent nearly five decades expanding the boundaries of photography, illusion, and image-making. An early digital-imaging pioneer, his career spans fine art, iconic album covers for artists including Michael Jackson, Van Halen, Black Sabbath, ZZ Top, and Rush, as well as major advertising campaigns. His work is held by LACMA, the Getty, and the George Eastman Museum.