AI and Code Transform The Artists Canvas

This summer, the Gwangju Media Art Platform (G.MAP), in partnership with Art Center Nabi, invites you to a groundbreaking exhibition running from July 15 to August 31, 2025. Titled Code as Canvas: Creative Graphics in the Age of AI, the showcase features seven visionary artists who are redefining the boundaries of digital art. The exhibition delves into how code, often seen as a purely technical tool, is being transformed into a rich language for graphic experimentation, spatial design, and profound emotional expression in our increasingly AI-driven world.

Form as Code: The Architecture of Digital Art

The first part of the exhibition, Form as Code, explores the foundational role of code as a system for composition. Here, artists treat code as a tool to build visual rhythm, structure, and even typographic syntax. Visitors will experience the work of Peter Cho, Bob Faust, Zach Lieberman, and Omid Nemalhabib, who utilize gesture-based interactions, generative typography, and complex algorithmic processes. Their installations demonstrate code's powerful ability to create visual logic and shape our sensory experiences.

The Poetic Machine: Emotion and Identity in Algorithms

In the second section, The Poetic Machine, the focus shifts to the more intimate ways code can mediate human memory, emotion, and identity. Artists Susan Detroy, Renata Janiszewska, and Karen LaFleur use AI, generative algorithms, and digital drawing to explore powerful themes of femininity, ecological awareness, and the cosmic imagination. These thought-provoking works are not confined to the gallery walls; they extend into immersive environments, including G.MAP’s innovative Black Cube and its dynamic outdoor media façade.

Beyond the Gallery: Special Programs and Historical Context

To enrich the experience, the exhibition includes special programming from the renowned Future Sketches group at MIT Media Lab. This includes video archives of captivating live coding performances and hands-on creative coding workshops, revealing how typographic systems can become dynamic, real-time tools for performance art.

Providing a historical anchor, a screening of Briar Levit’s documentary, Graphic Means: A History of Graphic Design Production, traces the evolution of graphic design from analog to digital. This film helps place today's code-based practices within the broader lineage of design history.

Ultimately, Code as Canvas argues that code is far more than a language of execution. It is a language of imagination, actively shaping how we perceive, think, and feel within the digital realm.

Participants: Peter Cho, Susan Detroy, Bob Faust, Renata Janiszewska, Karen LaFleur, Zach Lieberman, Omid Nemalhabib, Future Sketches (Lingdong Huang, Rebecca Lin, Jessica Stringham, Vera van de Seyp, Char Stiles)

Curation and Direction: The exhibition is curated by Honggyun Mok (G.MAP Curator) and Yeohyun Ahn (Guest Curator), coordinated by Yejin Hwang (G.MAP Exhibition Coordinator), and directed by Heokyung Kim (G.MAP Director).

For more information on the venue and organizers, visit the Gwangju Media Art Platform's official website.