Awaken, Metamagical Hands
18th July -
28th September
28th September
Gazelli Art House
39 Dover St, London
W15 4NN
Gazelli Art House and Verisart announce their collaborative exhibition Awaken, Metamagical Hands, highlighting pioneering artists at the intersection of human creativity and computational potential.
Curated by John Maeda and Robert Norton, the exhibition features works by Robbie Barrat, Joshua Davis, Golan Levin, LIA, Lauren Lee McCarthy, John Maeda and Helena Sarin.
Awaken, Metamagical Hands displays new and never before seen works by artists who have pushed the boundaries of what can be visualised and created with code.
Working both as artists and engineers, the exhibition chronicles pivotal
transitions, from writing arcane computer programs in the manner of a mathematician to today’s natural language prompts that often serve as an easy shortcut to artistry.
At a time where everyone can now awaken the computer’s metamagical hands, and get those hands to go do the human’s bidding, these works give the viewer a chance to reflect on the long journey that brought us here.
John Maeda
Robbie Barrat (b.1999)
is a Dublin-born, West Virginia-raised artist, who uses machine learning and GANs, to explore fashion, architecture, and art history, focusing on AI’s interpretation of data.
Barrat’s art, which views AI as both a medium and a tool, has been exhibited internationally, including at the Musée de la Mode Hasselt, Ars Electronica, System Failure in San Francisco, ArtJaws in New York, and the Late Tate during the Nam June Paik show.
His debut show, Infinite Skulls, was a collaboration with French painter Ronan Barrot at Avant Galerie Vossen in 2019. Initially focused on AI as both tool and subject, his recent work integrates AI into a broader creative process.
Joshua Davis (b. 1971)
is an American designer, technologist, author, and visual artist in new media. Creator of praystation.com, which won the 2001 Prix Ars Electronica Golden Nica, he was an early advocate of open-source software, sharing its source code publicly.
Davis also contributed to the visualisation of IBM’s Watson for Jeopardy. His work is in the Smithsonian’s Cooper Hewitt Design Museum and was featured in the 2006 National Design Triennial. He has spoken at TED and 99U about algorithmic image-making.
His art has been exhibited at venues including the Tate Modern, Ars Electronica, Design Museum London, Centre Pompidou, ICA London, and PS.1 MoMA.
Lauren Lee McCarthy (b.1987)
is an artist and programmer exploring social relationships within the contexts of surveillance, automation, and AI. Her interactive installations and performances challenge visitors to engage with themes of self-awareness and control.
McCarthy’s work has received numerous accolades, including the Ars Electronica Golden Nica and the Japan Media Arts Social Impact Award.
She is also the creator of p5.js, an open-source art and education platform, and serves on the Board of Directors for the Processing Foundation. McCarthy is an Associate Professor at UCLA Design Media Arts.
Golan Levin (b.1972)
is a Pittsburgh-based artist and educator, active in software art since 1995. His work explores intersections of machine code, visual culture, and critical making to highlight our relationship with machines and expand human creativity.
Levin’s art is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Tate London, ZKM Karlsruhe, and the Cooper-Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, and has been exhibited at venues like the Whitney Biennial, Victoria and Albert Museum, Ars Electronica, and ICA London.
He holds degrees from MIT and has been a Professor of electronic art at Carnegie Mellon University since 2004. With Tega Brain, he co-authored Code as Creative Medium (MIT Press, 2021), a guide for creative coding educators.
LIA
is an Austrian artist and pioneer in software and net art, active since 1995. Her work encompasses video, performance, software, installations, sculpture, projections, and digital applications.
Using code as her primary medium, LIA creates generative artworks that blend the traditions of drawing and painting with the aesthetics of digital images and algorithms.
Her minimalist works engage viewers in exploring abstract forms, movements, and colours intuitively.
John Maeda (b. 1966)
is Vice President of Design and Artificial Intelligence at Microsoft. An American technologist and designer, his work merges business, design, and technology to champion the “humanist technologist.”
Previously, Maeda served as Chief Technology Officer of Everbridge and was President of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). He also worked as a research professor at the MIT Media Lab, advancing computational design, low-code/no-code, and creative commerce. As an artist, Maeda redefined electronic media in art by blending computer programming with traditional techniques, and pioneering interactive motion graphics on the web.
His work is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Cartier Foundation in Paris, and he has held solo exhibitions in London, New York, and Paris.
Helena Sarin
is a visual artist and software engineer known as the “engineering artist.” With a background at Bell Labs and as an independent consultant in computer vision with deep learning, she blends technology with art.
Initially focused on analogue mediums like watercolour and pastel, Sarin shifted her artistic focus to Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs). Her AI-generated artworks have been exhibited internationally and featured in publications like Art In America.
She’s a frequent speaker at ML/AI conferences and, during the 2020 lockdown, created artist books showcasing her AI art. Since 2021, Sarin has been pioneering #potteryGAN, crafting 3D ceramics inspired by her AI designs. Her work has been showcased around the world with exhibitions in Oxford, Dubai, Zurich, Shanghai, Miami and more.
John Maeda (b. 1966)
is Vice President of Design and Artificial Intelligence at Microsoft. An American technologist and designer, his work merges business, design, and technology to champion the “humanist technologist.”
Previously, Maeda served as Chief Technology Officer of Everbridge and was President of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). He also worked as a research professor at the MIT Media Lab, advancing computational design, low-code/no-code, and creative commerce. As an artist, Maeda redefined electronic media in art by blending computer programming with traditional techniques, and pioneering interactive motion graphics on the web.
His work is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Cartier Foundation in Paris, and he has held solo exhibitions in London, New York, and Paris.
Robert Norton (b. 1972)
CEO and co-founder of Verisart, brings over 25 years of experience in e-commerce and startups, with a focus on art and technology. He previously co-founded Saatchi Art and Sedition Art, securing significant funding for Saatchi Art and launching Sedition Art as a pioneering platform for art collection. Norton also held senior roles at King.com and AOL, and has a background in media distribution and journalism. He holds a Masters in Modern History from Oxford University and has curated digital art shows, including the exhibitions Art in The Age of AI in 2019 for Founders Forum and GEN/GEN: Generative Generations in 2023 at Gazelli Art House, London.