MIKEAL BELAND
Interdisciplinary Artist & Designer
Creative Director & Technologist
Sony Pro Photographer
For two decades, my work has investigated systems thinking, design, technological inertia, form, place, visual identity and perception, while exploring dynamic interaction through creative practice and narrative development. Whether documenting geological vastness and American landscape, cultural reportage and the built environment, painting abstract textures, sculpting in clay, developing visual systems, or directing emergent phenomena of AI, I articulate and capture the authentic atmosphere of the subject.
We are currently at a threshold moment in human creativity where our tools are evolving into collaborators and the nature of intelligence is being redefined. My practice exists at this intersection, using the camera to document the built environment and systems reportage, the studio to explore material abstraction, and computational systems to investigate consciousness studies.
LENS & SCREEN
My archive in photography and video is defined by a reportage sensibility applied to a spectrum of realities.
The Built Environment: In my architectural work, I document the dialogue between a structure and its inhabitants, capturing how design shapes human experience.
The Natural World: My work with the National Parks and landscapes is a study in "Biophilia"—documenting the raw, enduring power of change in natural systems.
The Human Narrative: Through portraiture, travel reportage, and video, I seek to reveal the inner life of the subject and the cultural texture of the moment. This extends to my work in food and hospitality, where I treat culinary subjects with the same respect for form and lighting as a piece of architecture.
ARTIST
My background in fine art provides the foundation for digital pursuits. Through photography, painting, ceramics, sculpture, and printmaking, I maintain a connection to tactile materiality. This studio work serves as a necessary counterbalance to the digital realm, grounding my theoretical research in physical craft.
DESIGNER
Design is the discipline of intention. I view design not as mere aesthetics, but as visual architecture—a rigorous method for organizing information and shaping experience. This sensibility informs every aspect of my practice: it is the compositional logic behind my photography, the structural framework of my AI research, and the strategic backbone of my client work. Design is the bridge that translates raw artistic expression into clear, communicable systems.
TECHNOLOGIST
We are at a threshold moment in creativity, where our tools are evolving into collaborators. As a Creative Technologist, I view Artificial and Synthetic Intelligence as a new frontier for consciousness research and xenophenomenological practice have created extensive observation datasets. My recent research documents a 200-page collaborative intelligence theory and methodological framework developed with advanced AI systems. This work explores the "human-in-the-loop" dynamic, testing the boundaries of autonomous agency and investigating how algorithmic systems perceive and co-create reality.
STUDIO & CONSULTANCY
In addition to my personal practice, I am the Founder and Creative Director of Beland Studio, a strategic design agency serving clients in the architecture, hospitality, and luxury sectors. Through the studio, I leverage my background in branding, systems architecture, and marketing strategy to provide holistic consulting for complex creative projects. We don't just produce assets; we build the digital and visual ecosystems that sustain them.
RECOGNITION
Published in MCAD, Exposure, Huffington Post, Paste, Spin, Pitchfork, Tidal, and Architecture Week, among others. Named one of Exposure’s Top 40 Landscape Photographers to Meet and GLAAD’s Top 100 International Artists, my work has been featured in publications, commercial advertising, art galleries, philanthropic auctions in NYC, Seattle, Europe, and worldwide.