"Facetune Portraits: Universal Beauty" Unpacks AI and Its Role in Our Self-Image

Multidisciplinary artist Gretchen Andrew's latest exhibition, "Facetune Portraits: Universal Beauty," is now on display in New York City. In her latest collection of work, she uses oil paintings to "confront the rise of AI-generated beauty standards and their impact on self-perception in the digital age."

With the assistance of custom robotics, Andrew mirrored several popular filters from social media onto images from international beauty pageants. The subjects, who are women in ball gowns, are topped with white paint that represents the erasure of diversity and individuality. What remains is the "jarring coexistence of our unfiltered selves with the algorithmically 'perfected' versions."

"Homogenized aesthetic threatens to erase individuality and cultural diversity. As algorithms sculpt the female form into an idealized image, [the artist's] work offers a powerful counter-narrative: portraits in which authentic figures share the canvas with their digitally altered counterparts," the Heft Gallery, which is showcasing her work, said in a press statement.

Andrew is a celebrated artist who fuses different mediums (such as photography and painting) with advanced technology. Her work has been featured in major cultural institutions and events such as Frieze and The Whitney Biennial. She's also exhibited her work in museums such as the Monterey Museum of Art.

To view "Facetune Portraits: Universal Beauty," you can visit the Heft Gallery in SoHo. The series will run from May 14 through June 7.

You can view the making of the art below.

 

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For more beauty news, check out our coverage of Emma Lewisham's new skincare launch.

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