Michael Reeder’s work has been focused on the general theme of mortality for over five years, so he is a perfect match for ‘The Inevitable: Life, Death, and the After.’ His ArtDrop for the exhibition, ‘Wisdom Keeper,’ was originally a sketch for a painting intended for his November 2022 solo show in NYC. That painting shifted in a different direction, so he was able to jump back in and develop the image further.

Depicted is an old beat-up vinyl album cover for a faux band called Wisdom Keeper. He wanted to include the roughed-up patina on the album cover to represent age as a literal indicator of the existence of life and death and their relationship. Blending the face and graphic skull represents the finite nature of life and that everyone ultimately has an expiration date. In addition, the overall proportions and shapes of the piece are entirely derived from Reeder’s Cyber Bandits PFP format.