Pixelated: Mike Whiting
September 3, 2026-June 5, 2027
Pixelated: Mike Whiting explores the relationships and impact of the virtual world on our daily lives. Whiting’s sculptures represent the intersection of two distinct visual styles: 8-bit pixel graphics, which have enjoyed a recent resurgence in video games like Minecraft, and Minimalist sculpture. Technological limitations in early video games like Pac-Man and Space Invaders reduced the graphics to simplified shapes, while the Minimalist art movement created artworks that purposely lacked detail in order to find the most basic essence of Art. Whiting uses welded steel and automotive paint in his art to explore themes of the Natural and Artificial World; Play; Engaging Art History; Movement; Public Art; and, the Intersection of Technology and Wellbeing. Pixelated investigates the opposite intents of these two artistic approaches that result in a strikingly similar visual outcome.
Mike Whiting's monumental sculptures will be installed across campus and in Logan summer 2026 to summer 2027.
Michael Whiting (b. 1974, Provo, UT) is one of Utah’s best-known artists whose work has been exhibited around the world. His whimsical and recognizable sculptures of large-scale colorful pixelated animals and objects are inspired by early digital graphics and video game design. Whiting received his BFA at Brigham Young University and his MFA at the prestigious Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY. His works are included in museum collections, public parks, and cities throughout the country, including a recent monumental exhibition at the Denver Botanic Gardens and public installations in Salt Lake City, Denver, Long Beach, Albuquerque, and Seattle.
birdie, 2008
Powdercoated steel
96 × 96 × 41 in | 243.8 × 243.8 × 104.1 cm
Courtesy of the Artist