ARTISTS
Sam Leach: Everything Will Probably Be Fine
In 2018 internationally acclaimed Australian artist Sam Leach began an experiment 鈥� to test if Artificial Intelligence could be used to predict what his next painting should be. The resulting bodies of work drew on carefully curated visual references from globally and historically diverse sources; reminding us of the influence of ongoing iterations of progressive thinkers, and at the same time, providing a glimpse into the technology-driven future towards which we are inevitably hurtling at speed.
In the latest iteration of his research, Leach progresses his ideas further, programming his AI systems to consider: 鈥淲hat is the probability of a good future?鈥� An important question, and one that underscores much of humanity鈥檚 stress today.
In response, Leach鈥檚 AI algorithm produced images that he says, 鈥渃ould be interpreted as a warning or a cause for optimism鈥�. Amongst the usual classical landscapes and still life paintings he discovered a series of digital images reminiscent of polar bears: animals he considers highly charismatic and symbolic 鈥� commonly employed as an avatar of climate change.
In Sam Leach: Everything Will Probably Be Fine opening at Sullivan+Strumpf Sydney Thursday June 16, he presents a series of paintings and video works, representative of this ongoing uncertainty over the world鈥檚 future. Will humanity鈥檚 future be good鈥� or not?
Multi-award winner Sam Leach follows in the footsteps of the many painters throughout history who have absorbed and utilised new technologies. In acknowledging and reinforcing the profound impact of centuries of innovation, he fortifies art鈥檚 unique ability to be shaped by new technologies, and at the same time to interpret and reflect on them.
With a distanced, scientific approach Leach draws connections between data visualisation techniques, semiotics, and formalist abstraction that results in a kind of reductive aesthetics.
While the delicate interplay between formalist figuration and modernist abstraction in his paintings operates on one level to distance the viewer 鈥� to encourage them to look objectively at the subjects 鈥� on another level each animal depicted has a symbolic currency that resonates with the audience on a personal level.
His richly evocative paintings extend their focus from animal life to the spectrum of all life itself, encouraging the viewer to contemplate their role as a living creature on this shared earth.
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In 2018 internationally acclaimed Australian artist Sam Leach began an experiment 鈥� to test if Artificial Intelligence could be used to predict what his next painting should be. The resulting bodies of work drew on carefully curated visual references from globally and historically diverse sources; reminding us of the influence of ongoing iterations of progressive thinkers, and at the same time, providing a glimpse into the technology-driven future towards which we are inevitably hurtling at speed.
In the latest iteration of his research, Leach progresses his ideas further, programming his AI systems to consider: 鈥淲hat is the probability of a good future?鈥� An important question, and one that underscores much of humanity鈥檚 stress today.
In response, Leach鈥檚 AI algorithm produced images that he says, 鈥渃ould be interpreted as a warning or a cause for optimism鈥�. Amongst the usual classical landscapes and still life paintings he discovered a series of digital images reminiscent of polar bears: animals he considers highly charismatic and symbolic 鈥� commonly employed as an avatar of climate change.
In Sam Leach: Everything Will Probably Be Fine opening at Sullivan+Strumpf Sydney Thursday June 16, he presents a series of paintings and video works, representative of this ongoing uncertainty over the world鈥檚 future. Will humanity鈥檚 future be good鈥� or not?
Multi-award winner Sam Leach follows in the footsteps of the many painters throughout history who have absorbed and utilised new technologies. In acknowledging and reinforcing the profound impact of centuries of innovation, he fortifies art鈥檚 unique ability to be shaped by new technologies, and at the same time to interpret and reflect on them.
With a distanced, scientific approach Leach draws connections between data visualisation techniques, semiotics, and formalist abstraction that results in a kind of reductive aesthetics.
While the delicate interplay between formalist figuration and modernist abstraction in his paintings operates on one level to distance the viewer 鈥� to encourage them to look objectively at the subjects 鈥� on another level each animal depicted has a symbolic currency that resonates with the audience on a personal level.
His richly evocative paintings extend their focus from animal life to the spectrum of all life itself, encouraging the viewer to contemplate their role as a living creature on this shared earth.
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