Warsaw. BMW presents the third installment of the “BMW Art Club. The future is art” project. This year’s artist is Michael Hansmeyer, who has been commissioned by BMW to create a monumental 360-degree multimedia projection and AI-designed architectural sculpture, which will be the counterpoint to the video. His exhibition “Digital Grotesque” will open at Nowy Teatr on October 6.
Traditionally, as part of the BMW Art Club, the brand joins forces with a leading cultural institution in Poland to jointly prepare an innovative cultural event. Dynamism, unbridled imagination, innovative use of new technologies and a tribute to beauty are the common denominator of the artist’s installations and sculptures, whose work has so far been exhibited at the Pompidou Center in Paris, among others. Throughout his work, Michael Hansmeyer asks: “What are the things that were previously unattainable and made possible by innovation?” This is exactly the question that guides BMW as a future-oriented brand.
By inviting artist, architect and AI expert Michael Hansmeyer to collaborate, BMW is creating an experience that will allow us to question the relationship between humans, technology, art and the world. As BMW Art Club project curator Stach Szabłowski reveals: “For our commission, the artist is preparing an immersive multimedia installation called ‘Digital Grotesque’ and a sculpture inspired by ancient columns to complement the virtual world. His hallmark is harnessing intelligent machines and algorithms to explore and create beauty. His artistic practice is a kind of laboratory for experimenting with the new possibilities opened to us by the development of intelligent technologies in the fields of shaping space and creating beauty”, explains Szabłowski.
“Digital Grotesque” is Hansmeyer’s flagship project, which the artist has been perfecting for years. It works on all aspects: from writing code and algorithms using artificial intelligence, to 3D printing at the highest level of complexity currently possible, to manual work that requires surgical precision: the installation finish. Specially designed for the Nowy Teatr space, the work will allow us to literally touch the effect of the algorithms created by the artist.
As Michael Hansmeyer himself explains: “I am interested in how technological developments are redefining before our very eyes what is possible in architecture and design and, above all, what is conceivable. In my opinion, algorithms are a tool, but one that, in collaboration with humans, can help them understand themselves, recognize their capabilities, and even come closer to understanding the nature of a concept as fleeting as beauty.”
BMW is a pioneer in new technologies and sets trends in sustainable mobility. At the Research and Innovation Center (FIZ) in Munich, BMW creates solutions that shape the future. Michael Hansmeyer’s art combines the latest advances in programming and artificial intelligence with unbridled creativity, for which tomorrow is the horizon. For his artistic practice, a visit to the FIZ in Munich was an inspiring and opening experience, and for BMW, the artist’s selection for this year’s BMW Art Club was in turn a natural fit with the brand’s core values.
The “Digital Grotesque” exhibition as part of the BMW Art Club. The Future is Art 2022 will be shown from October 6 to 22 at the Nowy Teatr in Warsaw.
Admission will be free for all Nowy Teatr visitors. With this gesture, BMW fits into the trend of making culture as available as possible, which has grown especially strong in a post-pandemic world. The brand is consciously creating a new form of cultural sponsorship.
The project partner is Nowy Teatr and the technology partner is Epson, which provides the projectors used in the exhibition.