Curated by Machine Arts Group (Part of Zurich AI Festival)
While AI has revolutionized creativity in digital media, its impact on physical arts and crafts remains less visible. Expressive Machines bridge this gap through robotic systems that not only generate images but perform them — translating perception into gesture, and code into brushstroke. We ask: is a machine merely an extension of human intent, or could it — by developing a sense of aesthetics, materiality, and spatial awareness — become creative on its own?
The exhibition brings together three installations by artists and researchers working at the edge of computer science, robotics, and contemporary art. Featured are Patrick Tresset (Belgium), known for his autonomous drawing agents; Sofie Mart (Switzerland), with the new techniques in image processing; and the painting robot e-David, developed by Michael Stroh at University of Konstanz (Germany). Each installation features a live robotic system powered by custom AI protocols, offering a rare glimpse into the emerging aesthetics of non-human authorship.
Expressive Machines is curated and presented by the Machine Arts Group — an evolving art-tech space located in Zurich and dedicated to AI-assisted physical art-making. The Group fosters new forms of collaboration between artists and intelligent machines, focusing on the creative potential of embodied AI.
(Text from Website)
Featuring three live installations:
Patrick Tresset's autonomous drawing agents
Sofie Mart's image interpretation techniques
eDavid, a painting robot developed by Michael Stroh at the University of Konstanz
