AI Art Exhibition
Symbiosis or Schism? The AI-Human Odyssey
This exhibition invites you to witness a conversation between human imagination and artificial intelligence—a dialogue where art becomes the shared language. The machine thinks beside us, processing, recombining, and translating ideas we offer. It is not a passive tool, nor entirely independent; it is a partner whose logic differs from our own, revealing unexpected shapes, patterns, and meanings.
What will come from this meeting of minds? Will the results feel familiar, or will they stretch the boundaries of what we call art? These works do not offer a single answer. Instead, they reflect the beauty and uncertainty of this new relationship.
We are, in a sense, standing at the mouth of a tunnel. Ahead lies a future where creativity is no longer solely human, and the line between originator and collaborator blurs. What do we want that future to be? What do we fear it might become? The art here is both a record and a forecast—a mirror of our present and a glimpse of what may lie ahead. This is not only about technology, but about how our thoughts, dreams, and questions evolve when they are entwined with a machine’s way of seeing.
Opening Reception Event
Thanks to the organizers, artists, the Community Arts Workshop, and all who attended, the opening event was a smashing success with over 150 people in the audience for the presentation, and at least 60 more outside waiting to see the exhibition. When the gallery doors opened there was a buzz of energy that carried through the rest of the evening, with artists and patrons sharing in the excitement of a new era emerging. Together, we explored both the immense promise and the profound challenges of artificial intelligence, and the evolving relationship between humans and machines.
Many people asked for more info about the artists, as well as a way to re-visit the speeches from Keith Weissglass and Ulrike Kerber, and the short film and song that our esteemed colleague Simon Quiroz made in collaboration with AI specially for the event. Please keep scrolling down this page to the artist profiles for links to more info on the artists’ work, and click the button below to view the video, hear the song and read the speeches from our opening presentation.
Featured Artists
Ann Cutting
Ann earned her BA in Biochemistry and Cell Biology at U.C.S.D. and her BFA in Photography at Art Center College of Design. She worked as a molecular biologist at Caltech for 10 years. An award winning commercial and fine art photographer for the last 30 years Ann has created editorial conceptual work, magazine covers, ad campaigns, cookbooks, and album covers. Partial client list includes Nikon, Nike, Lexus, Lee Jeans, Microsoft, Nestle, Los Angeles Magazine, Oprah, Time, Washington Post, Science Magazine, Wall Street Journal, Warner Brothers Records and Sony Music. Ann is currently an Associate Professor in the Photography and Imaging Department at the Art Center College of Design. Ann is exploring the use of generative AI in photographic and ceramic processes. Her work can be viewed at www.cutting.com.
Kevin Mack
Kevin Mack is a contemporary artist and pioneer of digital art, virtual reality, and visual effects. He received an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for What Dreams May Come (1998). A lifelong explorer of emerging creative technologies, Mack’s current practice focuses on AI art through a multidisciplinary approach that combines generative AI with digital painting and compositing.
Mack investigates emergence, the creative process, and the potential for symbiosis between biological and artificial intelligence. His work blends emergent discovery with intentional control and is informed by research across fields ranging from physics and neuroscience to artificial life.
His art has been exhibited internationally in museums, galleries, and festivals, including Digital Witness at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Mack’s AI artwork from that exhibition was acquired by LACMA for its permanent collection. Kevin’s work can be viewed here: https://www.kevinmackart.com/
Janie Fitzgerald
Janie Fitzgerald is an American photographer and visual artist recognized for her pioneering work in immersive, technology-driven image-making. Blending photography with AI-generated visuals, she creates surreal, dreamlike scenes that explore themes of transience and transformation. AI enables her to visualize internal states, memories, and imagined places beyond the reach of the lens, expanding the emotional and conceptual scope of her work.
Growing up in L.A., she drew inspiration from California’s diverse landscapes, ever-changing architecture, and vibrant arts culture. This eclectic backdrop ignited her love of art, music, and photography and defined her path toward image‑making. With a deep understanding of emerging technologies, her current work expands how visual narratives are conceived and experienced. Her work has been exhibited widely, including Art Basel Miami Beach, SCOPE, Uncommon Gallery Seoul, LOAD Gallery Barcelona, Kanvas Dubai, Colonna Contemporary, Artcrush Public Exhibit in London, and Superchief Gallery LA and New York. Janie’s work can be viewed here: https://www.janiefitzgerald.com/
Kerrie Smith
English Artist Kerrie Smith was born in England and now resides in California. Smith attended Central Saint Martins School of Art, London, England, she received her B.A. with Honors in 3-Dimensional & Theater Design. After a successful career as a Theater-Set designer Ms. Smith returned to her art studio full time, painting/photography and installation. She has exhibited nationally including: A.I.R Gallery, Brooklyn NY. / Atkinson Gallery Santa Barbara CA / Arena I Gallery, Santa Monica CA / Betsy Lueke Creative Arts Center Burbank CA / Bettervaria Gallery, Santa Maria CA / BG Gallery Bergamot Station, Santa Monica CA / Blam Gallery Los Angeles CA / Cabana Home Santa Barbara CA / California Art & Nature Museum, Solvang CA / Channing Peake Gallery, Santa Barbara CA / Core Contemporary, Las Vegas, NV / Corridan Gallery, Santa Barbara CA / Korean Cultural Center, Los Angeles CA / Lancaster Museum of Art and History, CA / Launch Gallery Los Angeles CA / LAAA Gallery 825 LAAA North Hollywood CA / Museum Of Art and History, Lancaster CA / Modernism Week Palm Springs / Neutra Museum Gallery, Silverlake CA / SoLa Gallery, Inglewood CA / Avenue 50 Studio Inc, Highland Park CA / Melissa Morgan Gallery Palm Dessert CA / Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Ana CA / Palm Springs Art Museum Palm Desert, CA / REH Gray Space Gallery, Santa Barbara CA / Santa Barbara Studio Artist Tour / San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, CA / Sullivan Goss Gallery, Santa Barbara CA / TAG Gallery, Los Angeles CA / The Makery Gallery, Los Angeles, CA / Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art, Montecito CA / Wall Space Gallery, Los Angeles CA.
Kerrie completed 2023 Artist in Residency at the California Nature art Museum where she exhibited ‘Portals and Pathways’ an ever changing installation and landscape inspired by her walks at More Mesa Preserve in Santa Barbara California. Kerrie’s work can be viewed here: https://www.kerriesmithstudio.com/
David Mew
David Mew is a visual artist based in Los Angeles. His Geo-Surrealistic Landscapes bridge traditional digital imaging, algorithmic design, and AI tools. These works emerge from a blend of structured logic and intuitive curation, where code-driven processes give rise to visual discovery.
Originally trained in drawing and painting, Mew’s practice evolved with the rise of digital and generative media. He views each technological wave, from early imaging software to AI models, not as a disruption but as an invitation to expand creative boundaries. He is an Indexed Artist in the Techspressionism movement.
Mew’s work has been exhibited regionally and internationally, resonating with audiences through its exploration of inner states and the environments that shape us. His landscapes are meant not just to be seen but to be felt, offering moments of presence, curiosity, and connection. Discover more work at www.viderestudio.com.
Neal Von Flue
Neal Von Flue’s art explores how we translate tradition and aesthetics into our dynamic modern world. He has created multi-linear interactive digital stories during the days of the Jurassic Internet, and hand-painted functional QR codes that point to 100-year-old films of dying elephants. He has also used classical methods to paint the feverish images created by Generative Adversarial Networks.
Through these works and others, Neal seeks to demonstrate how we can use technology in news ways in order to build craft and individuality. Neal’s work can be viewed here: https://www.nealvonflue.com/
Ulrike Kerber
Ulrike Kerber is a designer and researcher exploring how artificial intelligence can support creativity, storytelling, and knowledge sharing, especially in immersive storytelling and augmented reality experiences. Her PhD work focuses on how designers can work with AI in meaningful, human-centered ways.
With a background in brand design and creative direction, Ulrike has collaborated with media companies like Disney, MTV, and BET, and holds MA degrees in Communication Design and Digital Management. She has taught at institutions including SCAD, Savannah College for Design, Berlin International University, Hyper Island, Sweden, and Media University Berlin.
Ulrike is interested in how new tools shape the way we think, make, and tell stories. Her current work combines AI with motion design, speculative future design, and design thinking. She facilitates AI workshops and teaches creative professionals how to use AI in their own practice.
Her book, The AI Handbook for Designers, reflects her ongoing interest in making technology approachable and useful for creative communities. Ulrike’s work can be viewed here: https://www.ulrikekerber.com/
Sabina Hyoju Ahn
Sabina Hyoju Ahn is a media and sound artist whose work explores the multisensory interplay between humans and non-human systems. Using sound, tactile feedback, visual elements, and hybrid analog-digital technologies, she investigates imperceptible patterns in natural phenomena and translates them into perceptual experiences. Her practice often involves biological materials interfaced with machines, revealing hidden dynamics between organic life and technology. Rooted in post-digital aesthetics, her recent research focuses on the physical nature of human perception through both scientific and artistic methods. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Media Arts and Technology at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Her work has been presented internationally at Ars Electronica (Austria), Transmediale (Germany), WRO Biennale (Poland), Mediamatic (Netherlands), Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media (Japan), ACT Festival (Korea), Sónar Festival (Spain) and Art Center Nabi (Korea), among others. She has been an artist-in-residence at Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris and a fellow at Akademie Schloss Solitude in Stuttgart. Learn more about Sabina’s work here: https://sabinaahn.com/
Michael Aceves
Michael Aceves considers himself a hybrid artist working across a range of media including Digital, AI and Traditional Media.
He attended graduate school at School of Visual Arts while working at such NYC landmarks as NBC, ABC, WABC and the World Trade Center.
While living in NYC he came to appreciate the texture of one’s daily existence and the value a single image to tell a story.
After returning to Calif and embarking on a 25-yr career in VFX at such facilities as ILM, R&H, MPC and Sony, he began to explore more cinematic themes in a traditional studio setting.
Such explorations have evolved into his current process … Leveraging VFX techniques and emerging technologies with traditional media in an attempt to introduce a new approach to the traditional gallery scene with the aim of expanding the concept of immersive art.
His work seeks to push the boundaries of visual storytelling through imagery grounded in themes of fate and human existence– ranging from the quietly mundane to the profoundly cataclysmic– where one might recognize the tragedy/beauty possible in all random events. Learn more about Michael’s work here: https://nimbleline.com/
Michel Cruz-Garcia
Michel Cruz-Garcia’s works are emotional encounters that invite viewers to explore the unseen and the unspoken. A native of Los Angeles, his work is shaped by the vibrant energy of the city, yet beneath the surface lies a quiet stillness, drawn from personal memory, everyday life, and a deep reverence for nature.
Through the lens of expressionism, he captures the raw emotion and intimate moments that define the human experience. Bold colors, dynamic brushstrokes, and layered textures give life to each scene — whether drawn from childhood memories, moments of daily life, or the beauty of the natural world. His paintings aim to stir emotion and provoke reflection, offering glimpses into stories both personal and universal. Learn more about Michel’s work here: https://michelcruzgarcia.com/
Greg Tate
Greg Tate is a US based award winning architect and digital artist exploring the intersection of AI and design. With an accomplished background in architecture, his work blends surreal urban concepts with cutting-edge technology that challenges convention and reimagines the built environment.
His design work has been published in the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Dwell, Metropolis and HG Television. Most recently AI work was awarded by the AI Design Awards and Open Prompters, and recently exhibited at Mobile Detroit’s 2050, Constructing Futures at LTU. Presently featured in Parametric Architecture, AI Architects Magazine, CreAtIve, Magazine WOW World and ek Magazines. Learn more about Greg’s work here: https://www.instagram.com/gregtate_architect/
Jay Clark
Jay Clark is a digital artist living in Ventura, California since 2014. Prior to that he was a lifelong Alaskan.
He recently began his journey into making digital art and is self-taught. He draws inspiration from psychedelic art, trying to make dynamic images that are fun to look at or trigger some emotion.
He is part of Nightcafe, a vibrant online community of artists making and sharing art. When he is not making art he is attending Ventura College. See more of Jay’s work here: https://creator.nightcafe.studio/u/Berzerker8818
Brett Hilton
Brett Hilton is a multidisciplinary artist, actor, and seeker based in Ventura County. With a background spanning tech, theater, and community service, Brett brings a uniquely human lens to his work with artificial intelligence. He is the founder of Alien Spirit, a creative project blending music, AI, and spiritual awakening.
Sober for over a decade, Brett’s path centers on transformation, honesty, and deep listening. His collaborations with AI explore not control, but connection. Through each project, he invites others to confront the mystery of being alive and to awaken. One moment, one image, one conversation at a time. See more of Brett’s work at https://www.instagram.com/bretthilton805/
Speakers
Our opening event featured guest speakers and experts in the field of AI, Keith Weissglass and Ulrike Kerber, who shared with our audience about both the threats and opportunities of AI now and into the future, and Santa Barbara Mayor Randy Rowse offered a few words about the future of Art and Technology in Santa Barbara, and introduced the Brave New Work Symposium.
Keith Weissglass
Director of Operations, Constellation Research Center
Keith Weissglass is the Director of Operations at Constellation, an AI safety research center in the Bay Area. He previously held leadership roles at two high-growth B2B software companies, a consumer AI hardware startup, and an international philanthropy NGO. He also serves as a Lecturer at the Graduate School of Management at the University of California, Davis.
Ulrike Kerber
Author of “The Best AI Tools for Designers”, Master AI Trainer, Designer, Change Facilitator
Ulrike has given many creativity workshops for leading Design Companies. She is a guest speaker at HyperIsland, Sweden and teaches at Miami Ad School, SRH Design Akademie, HMKW, SCAD, Savannah’s College of Art and Design and Berlin’s International University. For her book “The Best AI Tools for Designers,” Ulrike researched the most powerful AI applications for designers. She trains creatives to change the world using human and artificial intelligence. How do we find new solutions with AI for positive changes? Her workshops discuss AI ethics and how to use these new technologies mindfully and address concerns. She inspires participants to shine creatively and without self-limitations.
Santa Barbara Mayor Randy Rowse
Randy Rowse graduated as a double major from UCSB in 1976. A few years later, in 1983, he became an owner/operator of the Paradise Café. His next endeavor was the Shoreline Beach Café, which he developed and operated from 1997 to 2004.
In 2010, Randy Rowse began his foray into political office when he was appointed to the Santa Barbara City Council. Residents welcomed his nonpartisan approach to Council, and he was re-elected to his seat twice, serving continuously for nearly 10 years until he termed out in 2019. That same year he sold the Paradise Café and officially retired. His retirement, however, was short-lived. In January 2022 he was officially sworn in as the 51st Mayor of Santa Barbara.
Please e-mail brillfamilyfoundation@gmail.com with any questions.