Artist Statement:

My initial experiments in computational photography were driven by my desire to create photo-based depictions of the world that better convey the feeling of a place and the way we really experience it: not just visually, but also viscerally and cognitively. My grand format landscape images that result from these experiments are inspired by the 19th century master paintings of the Hudson River School and by the great romantic European landscape paintings that preceded them. Like those works, some of which reached ten feet in width, I've endeavored to create uncannily immersive and idyllic scenic experiences that deliver both breadth and detail. Since 2016, thanks to technological developments in deep learning and artificial intelligence along with the hard work and ingenuity of my generous engineering colleagues, Joseph Smarr (Google) and Chris Lamb (NVIDIA), I've been able to push my artwork in an intriguing new direction. Thanks to custom enhancements made to Google's DeepDream software, it has become possible for me to imbue my giant landscape images with a stunning degree of unexpected form and content. These "Dreamscapes" represent my attempt to remind myself and others that we are all actively participating in a shared waking dream, a dream that is on the precipice of considerable amplification by rapid advances in artificial intelligence and virtual reality.

EXHIBITION HISTORY

Comments about Dreamscapes and Daniel Ambrosi:

“This is where art is going.” –LeeAnn Lester, director of Next Level Fairs (Art Concept Miami, Art Palm Beach, Art Boca Raton, SeaFair Miami)

“Daniel Ambrosi's deep-dive into the genre of landscape painting is both ground-breaking and mesmerising. He uses AI tools as old masters once used their paint brushes. As a finalist for the Lumen Prize in 2019, his work inspires art lovers as well as other AI artists around the world.” –Carla Rapoport, founder of Lumen Art Projects and the Lumen Prize for Art and Technology

"Daniel Ambrosi works with DeepDream in a unique way, using the technology to bring out intricate textures and colours of landscapes, enhancing the atmosphere of the scene. His work serves as an excellent example of how artists can collaborate with AI systems to develop their own distinct aesthetic." –Luba Elliott, creative AI curator, writer, producer

"Daniel Ambrosi is a groundbreaking visionary artist straddling the worlds of fine art, science, and nature. At once these singular works are both hyperrealism and surrealism. Ambrosi wields a supercomputer as his brush, conjuring images of remarkable beauty and clarity. He has harnessed state-of-the-art artificial intelligence and applied it to nature, producing these amazing 'Dreamscapes' that are visually stunning, gorgeously composed, and which reveal a magic and mystery that is exhilarating." –Paul Fisher, art dealer and gallerist, Paul Fisher Gallery, West Palm Beach, FL

"It is insufficient and inaccurate to categorize Ambrosi's breathtaking images as landscape photography; while his work may start with a camera, Ambrosi's engaging and intriguing 'Dreamscapes' are firmly rooted in the 400-year history of landscape painting in the Western world, but significantly advance this tradition in ways that are both novel and relevant to our times." –Philip Bewley, curator, gallerist, and art historian, DZINE Gallery, San Francisco, CA

"I look for that rare combination of quality, innovation, and vision. Ambrosi has all three."–Peter Hastings Falk, American art historian, dealer, advisor, and publisher, New York City, NY