Starting October 27, Galerie Wilms will present THE GREAT TONNIE AND GRADJE AI exhibition, a unique exhibition focusing on the creative collaboration between painters Aaron van Erp and Rob Looman. In addition to their own painting careers, van Erp and Looman regularly paint together under the pseudonym Tonnie and Gradje. A painting process in which they constantly inspire and challenge each other. The exhibition focuses on the essence of human creativity at a time when artificial intelligence (AI) seems to be gaining the upper hand. This exhibition sheds light on their extraordinary working methods and challenges visitors to participate in their creative process.
The Great Tonnie and Gradje AI exhibition asks questions about the role of AI in art in humorous, sometimes provocative ways. Van Erp and Looman turn their project into true “Craft Interpretation,” offering a human counterpoint to the emerging artificial intelligence. Everyone is invited to submit ideas, prompts, which are used by the artists as inspiration for new paintings.
This interactive approach emphasizes the value of human interaction and creativity, something Van Erp says is fundamentally different from what AI can offer: “When people look at a painting, listen to music or read a book, they are seeking an encounter with the human behind the work. It is that connection that is the attraction of art. Human creativity is animated, is about the process and is therefore of a very different order than AI.”
The collaboration between Van Erp and Looman, which Looman himself describes as a “visual representation of friendship,” emerges through a process of constant exchange and complementing each other’s work. The artists often start without a preconceived plan, after which they enrich each other’s paintings in unpredictable ways. Each time it leads to a unique symbiosis of styles and ideas. The paintings are often alienating and absurdist in which humor is not shunned.
The Great Tonnie and Gradje AI exhibition is a celebration of a unique artistic collaboration, Starting Oct. 27, Galerie Wilms invites you to come discover this intriguing dialogue between the two painters.
Want to participate? Send us an email with your idea/prompt
