Tanner Rhines

Your style, Condentionism, is described as a “psychological matrix of characters and life energies.” How did this concept originate, and what does it represent for you today?

I’ve been making art my whole life, but my condention works really began to take form during my junior year in high school. My art teacher had allowed me to work in the storage room of our art wing, and the space gave me a lot of time to reflect and experiment with my work. It was funny because my friends would sometimes skip their classes to come hang out. It was my first bubble of creative space.

My condention works are a reflection of our external world blended with my inner interpretations. Every character, form, and connection is a collision between what I’ve seen and how I’ve chosen to process it.

Travel has intensified this. I’ve been living internationally for the past two years, spending time in Greece, Bahrain, Thailand, Australia, the UAE, South Africa, Latvia, Sweden, Ukraine, and soon Nepal. Moving through these cultures has expanded my sense of unison and connectivity in the world. As my physical boundaries grow, so does my creative bubble. The more I’m able to experience, the more stories, characters, and concepts I’m able to pull from.

Tanner Rhines | John On Wood

Your drawings are incredibly dense, filled with hundreds of hidden figures and micronarratives. What does this slow, meticulous process mean to you in an age of speed and instant gratification?

The process is what excites me. The personal understanding of my art develops as I’m creating it. I want the viewer to know I took my time with something that demanded months of care and attention. It’s a lot of fun to camouflage faces and figures throughout my drawings. I treat it like a sport – it’s the playfulness that keeps things interesting. Once a piece is finished, it might take a while to notice everything I’ve done. You have to live with my art to really catch everything. Each viewing can reveal something different, and it’s that slow process of discovery that makes it worthwhile. It’s built to age well.

Tanner Rhines | Dog

Do you see your detailed compositions as a form of meditation or resistance to the accelerated pace of contemporary culture?

Yes, it’s very meditative. Creating art has always been my happy place, and I don’t believe it should be rushed. It gives me pleasure knowing it’s far removed from the impatience and noise of society.

Tanner Rhines | Mothership

Many of your works blend playful, cartoon-like forms with philosophical undertones. How do you balance humor, symbolism, and psychological depth?

I like to think of my work in layers — the immediate visual layer, the concepts behind the characters, and the way they interact with each other in their provided space. The balance comes from letting all those layers coexist. The work should be fun without losing its conceptual substance. I’m careful that it isn’t mistaken for ‘doodle art.’ A doodle, by definition, is an absent-minded scribble. My pieces are deliberate, structured, and built on meaning. Every figure has intention, and I could write an essay about a single piece if I needed.

Tanner Rhines | Super Incredible New Future

Your early recognition—from the Scholastic Gold Medal Portfolio to international exhibitions—came very young. How did these milestones shape your artistic confidence and direction?

Growing up in Alaska, I always saw myself as an artist, and early recognition gave me a lot of momentum to keep persevering with my work. I was thankful to know that my art can find a place in this world.

Your artwork has been displayed in varied spaces: museums, ComicCon, airport terminals, and government institutions. How does the context in which your work is shown influence its meaning or reception?

If my work is going to a specific venue, I prefer it to be complimentary of why it’s existing in that space. For example, my work for Alaska Airlines explored transition and a suspended state of being, mirroring the in-between atmosphere of an airport. My works at ComicCon International were shaped around characters from pop culture and anime, leaning into the personality and energy of that environment. The space is responsible for the concepts and forms I attempt to convey. It gives me something new to respond to.

Tanner Rhines | The Socialite

Your pieces often incorporate recurring characters and motifs. Are there personal myths or symbolic figures that appear throughout your practice?

There are a few characters I revisit and place repeatedly through my pieces, and I do so almost ritualistically. I always start with the main characters; it feels like developing a movie scene around actors, like a form of inoculation. The medium serves as a petri dish. Some of their stories have been evolving over time, while others have intentionally remained static. A lot of people I’ve met in real life can turn into characters as well, and there’s a lot of moments from my own life that I symbolically reinterpret. These reoccurring characters are growing with me over time. As I change, they change… and sometimes they don’t. That dialogue between who I was, who I am, and who I’m becoming adds greater meaning to my work.