LOW FORM

An exploration of the technological and surreal imaginaries of contemporary artists through computer generated dreams, creative algorithms and avatars that question the meaning of existence.

Zach Blas and Jemima Wyman, Carola Bonfili, Ian Cheng, Cécile B. Evans, Pakui Hardware, Jamian Juliano-Villani, Avery K Singer, Nathaniel Mellors and Erkka Nissinen, Trevor Paglen, Agnieszka Polska, Jon Rafman, Lorenzo Senni, Cheyney Thompson, Luca Trevisani, Anna Uddenberg, Emilio Vavarella
 

LOW FORM. Imaginaries and Visions in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, a project curated by Bartolomeo Pietromarchi, MAXXI Arte Director, presents the visions of the most cutting-edge artists of the new generation, who show a present and a future, the representation of which is the offspring of technological unconsciousness and a dilated imaginary, in which traditional analogical references and the contemporary hyperconnected digital consciousness are combined. Capable of shifting between diverse and transverse cultural references, and influenced by globalised culture and the contamination between disciplines, their work—hybrid creations that weave visual, digital and sound elements—trigger a landscape of weird and eerie imaginaries where, between reminiscences of Surrealism and Dadaism, automatic processes and robots, a technological consciousness is determined, produced by creative algorithms, visual softwares, and reactive matter. A scenario in which simulation becomes the new aesthetic canon, paving the way for a field of unprecedented and unexplored reflection aimed at rethinking the basic questions on ethics, aesthetics, and the very status of art.

LOW FORM renders real the virtual panorama in which the artists are immersed to present, in an immersive, multimedia and multisensory display, more than 20 large installations some of them produced for the show. 

LOW FORM is not just an exhibition but a platform for study and debate on themes and issues associated with humanity’s relationship with technology and the scenarios opened up by its evolution. A broad-based approach that will develop a rich program of conferences, supported by Google Arts & Culture, featuring international experts and academics such as Francesco Spampinato, Luciano Floridi and the artist Jon Rafman, a video screening program, and a book from cura.books with an anthology of important theoretical texts including those by James Bridle, Nora Khan, Luciana Parisi and Hito Steyerl, as well as previously inedited visual contributions by the artists.