GIFT
CONTEMPORARY FINE ARTS, BERLIN, GERMANY
APRIL 26 — JUNE 1, 2024

Machine learning algorithms gained the ability to now not only identify objects in images but also to describe them using natural language. Researchers later flipped the process, attempting to do image-to-text, something that led to a shift in the art world. When looking at today’s use of artificial intelligence in art I feel like a distinction can be made between three types of artists who make use of it.

The first type uses AI as an inspiration and idea generator. The second type incorporates AI into the art to educate viewers about AI, while the third type uses AI in a satirical way.

This last category got me thinking as I wandered through the rooms of the Contemporary Fine Arts Gallery. The space is showing an exhibition called “Gift” by Eliza Douglas. The New York City-born artist studied at Bard College in New York and at Städelschule in Frankfurt and is known for her realistic paintings which often challenge the way paintings are interpreted and consumed as well as for her performative work alongside her partner Anne Imhof.

Upon entering the CFA Gallery, I immediately noticed the amount of subjects Eliza Douglas’ paintings seem to cover. They display cats, the sea, a person smiling, a person crying, fairy tale landscapes, oh and the one and only Jesus Christ. Each of these images is painted in a realistic style – except for one crucial detail: they are not real. As the Gallery says, they are all created with the help of AI and later painted on the canvases.

So what makes these paintings seem satirical and provocative to me, is the fact that they look like the most typical AI images, but just like we know AI, yet simultaneously like the most random images one can think of. Don’t ask me how, I’m just a human, not a machine. But if one were to guess, the use of AI could definitely show in the choice of bright colors and the somewhat blurry, almost Facetune-like effect within these artworks. Douglas’ AI-generated paintings also appear to bring back painting motifs that are centered on a singular scenario within the heart of the artwork.

However, Eliza Douglas also seems to strive for more, as the canvases are further adorned with majestic bows, varying in their colors and motifs and making the pictures look like, well the exhibition’s title says it – gifts. After visiting several other contemporary art exhibitions earlier that day, I was surprised to find that the title of this one resonated with me instantly. The artist abandons prestigious aesthetics and stages her works as in a department store presentation. Like previous stagings of her paintings, this one seems to question the art market while always reflecting the advances of our time.

— Lily Kröger, Les Nouveaux Riches, 2024

© Nick Ash