Woman Portrait Gallery #3 — June 2025
Matus Toth
“Dolce Vita”
I first saw Matus Toth's AI project Tinbrain in 2023 and we met in person in his hometown of Prague, where I interviewed him, as he was one of the first artists to embrace generative AI technology from its early days.
Coming from a background as an established fashion and editorial photographer, his involvement went beyond mere experimentation. These were my first conversations about AI, creativity and the consequences this disruptive technology might have for humanity. As a result of these conversations, we organized the first exhibition at Kaffeemitte dedicated entirely to AI-generated imagery.
More: kaffeemitte.de/galerie-tinbrain.html
At that time people asked us: "Is this Photoshop?" For this show, the third edition of the "Woman Portrait Gallery", I invited him to show a classic photograph instead of an AI-generated piece. Here one can recognize a fascinating phenomenon: the feedback loop between technology, tools, and the artistic process. Matus Toth's experience working with AI seems to echo back into his staged and editorial work. And people ask, "Is this AI?" — but it isn't. Instead, his images show how a sense of surrealism has entered contemporary art, as if reflecting the contradictions and uncertainties of our time.
Could surrealism be becoming a response to these conditions? Back then, we agreed: "Surrealism has left the museum." Unfortunately, it remains very much alive in politics and the media today.
Coming from a background as an established fashion and editorial photographer, his involvement went beyond mere experimentation. These were my first conversations about AI, creativity and the consequences this disruptive technology might have for humanity. As a result of these conversations, we organized the first exhibition at Kaffeemitte dedicated entirely to AI-generated imagery.
More: kaffeemitte.de/galerie-tinbrain.html
At that time people asked us: "Is this Photoshop?" For this show, the third edition of the "Woman Portrait Gallery", I invited him to show a classic photograph instead of an AI-generated piece. Here one can recognize a fascinating phenomenon: the feedback loop between technology, tools, and the artistic process. Matus Toth's experience working with AI seems to echo back into his staged and editorial work. And people ask, "Is this AI?" — but it isn't. Instead, his images show how a sense of surrealism has entered contemporary art, as if reflecting the contradictions and uncertainties of our time.
Could surrealism be becoming a response to these conditions? Back then, we agreed: "Surrealism has left the museum." Unfortunately, it remains very much alive in politics and the media today.
Context
