For SF Art Week, Gray Area will present a new solo show of work by Gretchen Andrew.

Gretchen Andrew’s new series Facetune Portraits delves into the ubiquitous practices of AI-powered body modification. These algorithmic filters, readily available on social media platforms and video conferencing tools (think Instagram, TikTok, even Zoom's "Touch Up My Appearance"), promise a more "appealing" version of ourselves. Gretchen challenges this ideal by employing custom-built robots to physically apply these "beautifying" algorithms onto wet oil paintings. The result? A captivating exploration of the dissonance between our natural state and the AI-constructed image we strive for coexisting uncomfortably on the same canvas.

This exhibition explores the intersection of generative art, artificial intelligence and traditional portraiture. Through a series of oil paintings, Gretchen will examine how AI algorithms shape our perception of beauty in the digital age.

For her portraits exhibited at Gray Area Gretchen has collaborated with select Bay Area-based social media influencers whose work intersects with themes of self-representation and the impact of technology. These influencers have been interviewed and photographed by Gretchen, with their portraits then transformed using Gretchen’s custom robotics, applying popular "beautifying" AI algorithms.

About Gretchen Andrew

Gretchen Andrew manipulates systems of power with art, glitter, and code. She is best known for her playful hacks on major art world and political institutions, including Frieze, The Whitney Biennial, Artforum, The Turner Prize, and The Next American President. In these digital performances, she reimagines reality with art and desire. She does this by making assemblage “vision boards” that she programs to become top internet search results. The feminine and trivialized materials of her vision boards purposefully clash with the male-dominated worlds of AI, programming, and political control they also operate within. In Gretchen’s new Facetune Portrait series the artist uses custom robotics to physically apply popular “beautifying” AI algorithms into oil paintings. She trained in London with the artist Billy Childish from 2012-2017. In 2018 the V&A Museum released her book Search Engine Art. Gretchen’s work has recently been featured in Fast Company, Flash Art, The Washington Post, Fortune Magazine, Monopol, Wirtschaftswoche, The Los Angeles Times, Forbes, and The Financial Times.