Humans and technology collide in HOFA Gallery’s latest art exhibition

Frieze London 2024, one of the buzziest events in the UK capital’s cultural calendar, is soon upon us, and as part of it the House of Fine Art gallery (HOFA) in London has launched a new and exciting exhibition. 

Bringing together works by eight trailblazing figures in the world of digital art, including Sougwen Chung, Refik Anadol, and Krista Kim, the show is titled ‘SPACES’ and “explores the evolving interplay between digital technology and contemporary art” says HOFA co-founder Elio D’Anna. 

One of the exhibition’s standout pieces comes from Chinese-Canadian artist Sougwen Chung, whose human-machine collaboration, ‘Spectral’, uses a telekinetic robotic arm to paint alongside her. 

The work, created in collaboration with the robotic system D.O.U.G._4 linked to the Chung’s brainwaves, translating her thoughts into precise movements across a transparent canvas.

Meanwhile, Krista Kim, the founder of Techism and a cultural leader at the World Economic Forum, is showcasing a triptych of her iconic meditative gradient works, blending digital software with UV-printed physical mediums.

Her work, which has previously featured on The Sphere in Las Vegas and in Times Square, offers vibrant colourscapes that aims to elevate consciousness and inspire positivity in the digital realm. 

Then there’s Turkish-American new media superstar Refik Anadol, whose presenting his work ‘Winds of Yawanawa #888’, which forms part of his Winds of Yawanawa collection.

The vibrant series transforms weather data from the Yawanawa tribe’s Amazonian village into 1,000 unique NFT Data Paintings, showcasing a fascinating interplay between ancient cultures and the digital world we live in today.

Also featured in the 500 square-metre gallery located in London’s upscale Mayfair neighbourhood will be works by Colombian writer Ana Maria Caballero, Dutch visual artist Joseph Klibansky, and London’s own Random International art collective.

HOFA is not a newcomer to new media. An early champion of digital art, the gallery has been representing digital artists for years. In 2018, HOFA even became the first gallery in the world to accept payment in cryptocurrency for its collection.

“Starting to accept cryptocurrency was a first dip into this whole universe that is Web3,” HOFA founder Elio D’Anna told Euronews Culture. “It allowed us to start developing tech, allowed us to start getting the artists interested in working in this different layer.”

If you’re interesting by how technology is transforming (and disrupting) the art world, then ‘SPACES’ exhibition is an absolute must-see.

‘SPACES’ runs from 3 to 10 October at HOFA Gallery, London.*