12 Influential Artists in Artificial Intelligence

Discover the best artworks created with AI and robots, challenging the limits of human creativity.

The year 2018 marked an unprecedented milestone in the history of art. It all happened one night when a dozen journalists from around the world received a cryptic message in their emails in the form of a black and white screen, reminiscent of arcade graphics, with the caption: "Creativity is not just for humans." With this, the arrival of a new player in the art world was announced: machines.

The creators of this action were three makers from France known as Obvious, a group that claims that Artificial Intelligence (AI) has finally taken over art.

Since then, the art world has witnessed the rise of a new generation of artists who push the boundaries of creativity by reinterpreting artistic styles to create new pieces. Here are twelve artists who have contributed to the most representative works of this new movement and the stories behind each creation.

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Can machines create art?

Obvious' action sparked a heated discussion where the art community began to ponder the real possibility of machines as producers of art.

For pioneering artists in the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) like German artist Mario Klingemann, machines can expand our creative processes and explore unimagined solutions, but they still rely on human influence to make sense.

In an interview with El País, Klingemann pointed out, "The machine can produce many things, but it still cannot discern which ones make sense and which ones don't, so we are the ones who have to find, among all this infinite output, what makes sense to us."

As Klingemann mentioned, many AI-generated artworks rely on programs called GAN, or Generative Adversarial Networks, which depend on humans to choose the dataset, design the program, train the machine, and curate the final results.

Therefore, the general consensus today is that while machines are capable of assisting artists in their creative process, they still cannot surpass the boundaries of human creativity. This is because they are entirely dependent on the input provided by humans.

12 notable artists using Artificial Intelligence

Since our interaction with machines began, people have been questioning the possibility of creating a similar level of independence and autonomy in them as in humans. While significant technological advancements have been made, there is still a long way to go to truly bring these objects to life.

In the meantime, artists are harnessing the capabilities of Artificial Intelligence to enable new dialogues and expand the creative process.

Here is our selection of the 12 most important exhibitors in this field:

1. Harold Cohen and AARON

In 1973, Harold Cohen, a popular artist, generative art pioneer, and professor at the University of California, posed a crucial question in the art world. In an attempt to find the minimal conditions for a series of marks to function as an image, he created a computer program called AARON to autonomously create art.

With AARON, Cohen produced interesting images that became one of the earliest instances of the relationship between computers and art. Initially, he created abstract images that, over a decade, evolved into more structured and colorful pieces.

2. Alex Mordvintsev

The inventor of the Google DeepDream program, scientist Alex Mordvintsev conducted an experiment that perhaps only science fiction authors could have imagined: making computers dream. By training an algorithm composed of an artificial neural network fed with millions of images, Alex managed to create unusual images that show us what machines see when given more freedom of action.

To achieve this, Mordvintsev employed an artificial neural network trained to highlight and exaggerate patterns in the millions of images that the artist fed into the machine. The artworks created by the program feature images that could be described as pure psychedelia.

3. Obvious

Obvious is the collective under which three French makers - Pierre Fautrel, Hugo Caselles-Dupré, and Gauthier Vernie - created one of the first pieces of art made by an Artificial Intelligence. The artwork generated so much buzz in the art world that it became the first machine-generated piece to be sold at Christie's, the famous auction house known for significant art sales.

Among their most iconic works is "Portrait of Edmond de Belamy," a portrait in a realistic style with evocations of the 19th century, which is part of a generative art series called "La Famille de Belamy." To create the piece, the makers used a GAN (Generative Adversarial Network) program, which received a wide variety of artistic references and portraits to produce the final result.

4. Robbie Barrat

As a young prodigy of AI art, Dublin-born artist Robbie Barrat has become a prominent figure in the art community. His career began at the leading computing company, NVIDIA, and continued as a researcher at Stanford University's bioinformatics laboratory.

Collaboration between Robbie Barrat and the fashion house Balenciaga.

In his artwork, the artist seeks to push the boundaries of architecture, art history, and fashion through the use of algorithms powered by neural networks. In this way, Barrat proposes to generate new creative processes at the intersection of technology and art.

5. Pindar Van Arman

Experimenting with code and teaching robots to paint through programming, Pindar Van Arman has become a notable figure in computational art. Among his most prominent projects is the CloudPainter program, a sophisticated robot that allows anyone with an internet connection to control the artworks it produces.

With various accolades for his creative processes such as the Robot Art Competition, Pindar's work reflects on the role of technology in the world, the origin of creativity, and the ways in which humans and robots can collaborate to generate new pieces.

6. Botto

Its creators describe it as a decentralized autonomous artist, and in its manifesto, Botto declares itself as an Artificial Intelligence created to create. Unlike other AI artists, Botto stands out for the community-oriented sense that characterizes its discourse, as well as for creating pieces taking into account the suggestions of the community.

Every week, Botto generates around 350 art pieces that are put to a vote among the community. Based on the votes and the chosen style, it trains its algorithm to assimilate the community's taste and generate new proposed pieces.

7. Mario Klingemann

Perhaps one of the most relevant pioneers in the world of generative art and computational art is undoubtedly the German artist Mario Klingemann. With a compelling portfolio of work, Klingemann's images make use of codes, algorithms, and neural network programs that participate in the creation of unique pieces with a great visual impact.

His pieces show a deep interest in glitch art, data classification, and robotic installations, with the aim of generating reinterpretations of reality. Through his work, the artist questions and subverts the functioning of both artistic and technological systems that exist.

8. Panorama Channel

The visual style of Harry Potter envelops a magical world that transports us to Hogwarts in the blink of an eye. In J.K. Rowling's book, the characters are clearly defined, both in terms of their personality and their attire. Chris Columbus represented them following the book's descriptions but also from his own perspective. And we wonder, how would these characters have been recreated if they had been directed by another director? For example, Wes Anderson?

Here's the test. Panorama Channel has recreated some of the Harry Potter characters using Artificial Intelligence in the style of Wes Anderson. Harry Potter in full color!

9. str4ngething

What would happen if we combine Renaissance art, fashion, and artificial intelligence? Well, that's exactly what str4ngething does. Their artistic vision is yielding astonishing results by using artificial intelligence as a means to create art. Among their art, we can find footwear, jewelry, wallets, bags, and suitcases in the Renaissance or Baroque style. The combination of classical art with contemporary style, along with creativity and innovation, gives rise to a completely unique artistic expression.

The artist, who prefers to remain anonymous, describes their work as AI Art inspired by the Mandela effect, which refers to "false memories" that lead us to believe in things that never happened, such as wearing sneakers in the Renaissance.

10. Shail Patel

Behind this name is an Iranian architectural designer, Shail Patel, who surprises and inspires with their works created with artificial intelligence. The AI tool they masterfully navigate is called Midjourney, and it presents objects and scenarios in a very different way than we are accustomed to. The artist offers us a range of new and astonishing worlds ranging from architecture to fashion.

11. Bonny Carrera

Playing with food is what Bonny Carrera does, and they are proof of it. Specifically, Bonny plays, usually with fruits and food, to transform them into seemingly comfortable 3D chairs. But their collection goes beyond that. These are conceptual chairs with creative and fun shapes generated with artificial intelligence that awaken inspiration. It can be a chair inspired by a watermelon, a plant leaf, a Mondrian painting, hair, or animals. These objects are placed in a clean setting as if they were studio photographs. The details are meticulously taken care of since the chair collection also includes functional design elements to ensure visual comfort.

12. Diego Berro

Sensitivity, tastes, and talent are interpreted differently depending on who wields the tools of artificial intelligence. Photographer Diego Berro has his own abilities that make the results of his image creations unique. We can see it in his art generated with artificial intelligence: conceptual images that tell a story, convey an attitude, or present an imaginary universe that invites fascination.
Colorful geometric architecture, pirate animals, punks or gangsters, appetizing food textures, or unimaginable scenarios fill this digital artist's collection with life.

Do you want to continue discovering the work of inspiring artists?
Don't forget to take a look at the Inspiration Lists section on the blog to keep exploring new creatives, works, and trends in the world of creativity.

And if you're ready to delve into the world of digital art, we recommend exploring our online courses in Web and App Design to open up new creative possibilities in your own pieces.

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