In the Studio with Daniel Sutliff

By Steve Liggett

Artist Daniel Sutliff with his work

I’ve watched Daniel’s work evolve over the past fifteen years. He has an obsessive fascination with electronic music, early 8-bit video games, and the interaction between the two. I love his lack of fear to follow his own path wherever that leads and have given him this opportunity to show that lack of fear through his paintings in this exhibition.

Liggett: Where did your original interest in analog technologies stem from?

Sutliff: I’ve always liked seeing and hearing [about] the process of things. The digital world is so streamlined and invisible. I prefer giant glowing buttons that honk and flash when you press them. I want to see the gears moving.

Liggett: It’s really interesting that you are creating what looks like digital art with paint. Can you talk about the relationship between the two mediums and how that shows up in your work?

Sutliff: The digital realm is a tool that I use like a sketchbook. It’s practical. I can design and choose colors before committing to them

Daniel Sutliff, Snake Pass, 2021, acrylic on canvas, 36” x 48” Top right: Magenta Manifold, 2019, acrylic on canvas, 24” x 24” Above: Phasic Guards (Detail), 2021

physically. Paint is expensive! When you’re using a wide array of colors it helps. When it comes to realizing the ideas in the physical world, I want them to look handmade. I want the imperfections to show.

Liggett: You talk about how you celebrate the limitations that minimalist computer graphics impose on your work. How does working within those restraints on your work affect the outcome?

Sutliff: It helps me get the most out of what I’m working with. Nothing is wasted. It feels like one complete expression. There is nothing worse than having an infinite number of options. That being said, I haven’t limited my color palette and that’s often the hardest thing to figure out!

Liggett: Do the images you create come from actual video games or are they all imagined worlds?

Sutliff: Both. The figures and some of the structures are mined from games I grew up playing. I use them as raw material. The paintings are like collages. Instead of ripping apart National Geographics I’m ripping apart video games.

Liggett: We are so excited to show your work at Liggett Studio. What can viewers expect to see at the show?

Sutliff: Several paintings and what I call “free shapes,” which are like disembodied fragments from the paintings. I’m also working on some sculptural reliefs and some animations to illustrate the nature of what the paintings represent: still frames from an endless animated sequence.

Daniel Sutliff’s exhibition, Byte Sized Mind, is on view at Liggett Studio in Tulsa, OK from October 8 to October 29. More of his work can be found at danielsutliff.com. More information about the exhibition can be found at liggettstudio.com. n

Steve Liggett is a working artist/artist advocate with a 50-year history of supporting local artists by showing their works. He has won many awards including the Governor’s Art Award, the Harwelden Award, and the John Hope Franklin Award. He currently operates Liggett Studio and Liggett Pottery in Tulsa, OK.