Augmented Intelligence: Art in the Hands of Artificial Intelligence

The forthcoming auction Augmented Intelligence will offer over 20 items by artists who have redefined art and technology, from the earliest pioneers of artificial intelligence from the 1960s to contemporary artists. The mediums presented range from sculpture, painting, prints, works on paper to digitally native works, screen, interactive works, and light boxes. A selection of works by artists from NVIDIA’s AI Art Gallery will also be part of the auction. All of the auctioned art will be exhibited in Christie's Rockefeller Center gallery.

The most significant artworks are from the 2017 series Emerging Faces by Pindar Van Arman, the estimated price of which is from 180,000 to 250,000 dollars. The piece consists of nine canvases that are among the first paintings autonomously created by neural networks—a true milestone in art generated by artificial intelligence.

Alexander Reben’s piece offers a unique opportunity to bid on a painting emerging during a live performance. The artist will be creating paintings by using generative AI in real time. A large-scale painting robot will be installed in Rockefeller Center and during the auction will paint more of the canvas as bids rise, each addition in proportion to the price increase. 

“The auction redefines the relationship between art and technology,” says Nicole Sales Giles, VP and Director of Digital Art sales, Christie’s, commenting on how “artists incorporate artificial intelligence into their practices in many unique ways.” For collections, it’s a chance to invest in a visionary art industry that will influence art and the art market in the years to come.