A key term for Kurant is collective intelligence, which highlights how various elements, including molecules, animals, and humans, can interact to shape the world. Thus, Kurant is more interested in creating systems for collective intelligence to evolve than just creating a form.

For example, in the series “A.A.I.”, she outsources work to termite colonies, fascinated by their ability to build intricate structures without hierarchical guidance. Kurant sees parallels between the exploitation of termites by corporations and the exploitation of human labor in digital capitalism. The title A.A.I. means artificial artificial intelligence, which is not a machine learning model but a person responding to requests. Kurant stresses that artificial intelligence is currently a planetary system of exploiting the collective intelligence of our data because A.I. algorithms are trained on the digital footprints of all internet users.

Kurant’s works often serve as “traps,” visually appealing but embodying contemporary political and economic critiques. She investigates the invisible labor that sustains the digital economy, including the extraction of minerals for technology and the destruction of ecosystems. Through works like “Chemical Gardens,” she creates quasi-life forms using chemicals mixed, reflecting on the intersection of organic and inorganic materials in our environment. She also explores the history of currencies and objects used for exchange, linking it to the evolution of digital currencies like Bitcoin. Additionally, Kurant’s works engage with the changing nature of technology and communication. For example, in “Conversations,” she uses artificial intelligence to capture online discussions and translate them into evolving paintings, reflecting the emotional impact of digital interactions.

Agnieszka Kurant was born in 1978 in Lodz, Poland. She has a background in philosophy and holds an M.A. in creative curating from Goldsmiths College, University of London (2003). Kurant has presented solo exhibitions at the Kunstverein Hannover, Hanover (2023); Castello di Rivoli, Turin (2022); Muzeum Sztuki, Łódź (2021); Design Museum Gent, Ghent (2019); SCAD Museum of Art, Savannah (2017); SculptureCenter, New York (2013) and Stroom den Haag, The Hague (2013). In 2015, she created a work for the façade of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. Her works have been shown in numerous group exhibitions, and in 2023, she was part of the exhibition The Irreplaceable Human at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. Agnieszka Kurant lives and works in New York.

Marc-Christoph Wagner interviewed Agnieszka Kurant in November 2023 at the library of Designmuseum Danmark.

Camera: Jarl Therkelsen Kaldan

Edit: Signe Boe Pedersen

Produced by Signe Boe Pedersen and Marc-Christoph Wagner

Copyright: Louisiana Channel, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 2024