This series is dedicated to introducing you to selected artists, curators, and collectors. With this new format, we aim to bring you closer to the people who are shaping the digital art landscape.
Our first guest is none other than aurèce vettier. We've had the pleasure of knowing Paul since last year and are thrilled that he's agreed to join us for this inaugural edition, especially amidst his busy schedule with the upcoming Bright Moments launch in Paris, where he will be unveiling his dream-inspired works.
His journey to artistry began in a nature-rich childhood and evolved through tech and art exposure, leading to a unique blend of AI and art. He is currently working on large-scale AI sculptures and tapestries, and remains committed to environmental causes.
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aurèce vettier - Unveiling Dreams Through AI
Can you describe your path to becoming an artist? Were there any key moments or people who played a big part in this?
I was born in the mountains and, as far as I can remember, as a child I used to tinker with things, I used to talk with animals and I was very much in close contact with nature. I also loved sharing these discoveries with my friends and family, sometimes by putting on exhibitions in my garden or at school. In a way, I'm doing the same thing today as I did when I was a child, but using more sophisticated means and techniques.
After studying advanced mathematics - called Classes Préparatoires in France - I went on to study computer science at engineering school. During my studies, my student job consisted of working for an art and fashion magazine called Purple: I documented hundreds of art exhibitions, met many artists and started writing about art.
In 2016, I set up a company specialising in a field of artificial intelligence - computer vision - which applied this field to fashion. On that occasion, I was in charge of training AI models, and I met the first artists who were working with artificial intelligence with whom I had some interesting discussions.
In 2019, the planets aligned: the intense desire to open a laboratory for artistic creation was combined with a visit to the Venice Biennale that year.
A lot of the artists there were focusing purely on evoking problems, and I had the very strong intuition that we were at the end of a cycle, that the place of the artist was going to change radically in the next few years, particularly with the emergence of cutting-edge tools such as artificial intelligence.
aurèce vettier, the Mountain is the bond between Earth and Sky (forms derived from hemp), bronze sculptures from AI-generated forms, 368 cm x 20 cm x 20 cm; its petals are bloodied its thorns are two-pronged ice daggers that pierce my palms (AV-2022-U-260), and every time i touch it i bleed my breath has turned to steam (AV-2022-U-261), and in time it will freeze my lungs and the next thing i know i’ll be a ghost -locked inside myself (AV-2022-U-262), oil on canvas from AI generated forms, 150 cm x 120 cm each, tribute to Vera Molnar– Exhibition at Brownstone Foundation, Paris, 2022, Photo Nicolas Brasseur; Courtesy of the artist
Is there a particular source of inspiration that has significantly impacted your artistic approach or practice?
Like many artists, I assimilate immense quantities of information, and I also try to have all sorts of adventures in everyday life.
I read a lot, but it's true that certain authors, for very different reasons, have a certain importance in my thinking. I'm referring in particular to Jacques Abeille, René Daumal, Haruki Murakami, the poetry of Aurelie Nemours, all the works of Jorge Luis Borges and in particular the short story 'Circular Ruins'.
In art, I collect a lot of work by artists who pioneered the man-machine relationship, such as Vera Molnár and Manfred Mohr. I'm also very interested in Arte Povera artists such as Giuseppe Penone, Iannis Kounellis and Michelangelo Pistoletto, and certain conceptual artists like On Kawara.
I would say, however, that my main source of inspiration is my everyday life. I hope it doesn't sound pretentious when I say it, but I use a lot of personal texts and images in my work, because this allows me to achieve an aesthetic that I understand and control.
What core message or vision do you aim to convey through your art, and how do you hope it resonates with your audience
On a personal level, my work first and foremost allows me to engage in a kind of ongoing introspection, an inner journey.
As part of the series I'm about to unveil for Bright Moments' AI Collection in Paris, I've trained a text-to-image model on my photos, from childhood to the present day.
By using this model to interpret my dreams over the last few months, I'm trying to find a universal watermark to all this, by leveraging the absorptive and digestive capacities of artificial intelligences.
I'm also very excited about the distribution of the works. I like to see where the works end up with collectors.
As my studio grows and my income increases, I'm starting to channel that income into causes that are close to my heart, such as ecosystem restoration. I really like the idea of AI-generated dream paintings or impossibly shaped plants helping to decontaminate soil in the real world, or restore a forest.
second tree prosthesis (forms derived from hemp), AI-generated forms, bronze sculpture, old gold and green patina, 108 cm x 50 cm x 40 cm (AV-2022-U-257); Shown in the forest at Château du Feÿ, France, 2024; Courtesy of the artist
Thinking back to your first digital artworks, how do you feel about them now?
At the time, a lot of people around me told me that I didn't have the pedigree to become an artist. I opened my studio at the age of 29, I didn't go to art school - although I'm well versed in art history - in short, I wasn't part of the clan.
Others also told me that AI-generated art wasn't art, which I found to be a very good sign. After all, there was a time when abstract art wasn't art and conceptual art wasn't art, according to certain experts.
In the studio, I'm often silent and alone. This gives me time to think: do I really want to send the piece out into the world?
Sometimes not, in which case I destroy it or transform it.
Sometimes yes, in which case I give it a unique reference, add it to my list of works and it leaves the studio. At that point, I no longer have any control over its destiny and I accept it.
On the whole, I'm the kind of person who prefers to do the work, who prefers to feel remorse rather than regret.
Do you have a dream project that you haven’t started yet? What makes it so exciting for you?
At the moment, I'm in the process of moving up a scale: I'm designing very large AI-generated sculptures and tapestries.
I want to create an amazing, enveloping ecosystem.
What excites me is designing forms that we've never seen before, and working hand in hand with excellent craftsmen - founders, tapestry-makers, decorative painters, to bring these forms into real life, while making a set of totally exciting compromises.
As in mathematics, when you project into a space with fewer dimensions, you have to choose how to do it, and decide what information you're prepared to lose.
Left: everything takes place as it did not exist (a transfiguration) (AV-2023-U-383), Oil on canvas from AI-generated images, real-time AI-generated video mapping 90 x 120 cm, In collaboration with 204.ai; Right: rivages / virages (AV-2023-U-384), AI-generated shapes, LED neon, 103 cm x 290 cm. Photo by Aurélien Mole
Which digital artists do you feel should receive more attention, and what aspects of their work do you find most exciting?
There are a lot of them, so I'm going to take the liberty of mentioning a few AI artists that I can also call my friends. I really enjoy interacting and working with Robbie Barrat, Sofia Crespo, Sasha Stiles, Anne Spalter or Gordon Berger.
Beyond AI, I find the work of web3 artists like Agoria, Albertine Meunier, Operator, Kalen Iwamoto, Qubibi, Ana Maria Caballero, SamJ, Primavera de Filippi, Pierre Pauze, Merzmensch, Mattia Cuttini or u2p050 just fascinating.
I also believe that the role of curators in this space is crucial, and it's maybe the people that should receive more praise, but also that should benefit from an improved revenue model: Fanny Lakoubay, Beth Jochim, Stina Gustafsson, Sofia Garcia, Micol Apruzzese, Diane Drubay, Toni Marinara, Alex Estorick, Viola Lukács, Clara Peh, Kate Vass, Mimi Nguyen, Zsofi Valyi-Nagy, Caroline Vossen, Tina Rivers Ryan, Julia Kaganskiy, Gaia Bobò - to only name a few.
Do you have any upcoming collections, works, or exhibitions planned in the near future that you're particularly enthusiastic about?
I am currently showing a triptych of paintings at the Ludwig Museum in Budapest, as part of "A la Recherche de Vera Molnár", an exhibition paying tribute to this great artist.
It is a reconstitution of the profile of Mount Sainte Victoire, a recurring motif in Vera's work.
In February, I'll be taking part in the AI Collection at the Bright Moments event in Paris, with 100 AI-generated works based on descriptions of my dreams.
And by the end of the year, I hope to be able to deploy my forest of large bronze trees somewhere.
