The New Museum in New York has opened "New Humans: Memories of the Future," an exhibition curated by Chief Curator Massimiliano Gioni that explores a century of art predicting the fusion of humans and machines. The show features works by artists including Anicka Yi, Francis Picabia, Constantin Brancusi, and Marcel Duchamp, alongside robots and technological artifacts that blur the boundaries between bodies and technology. The exhibition is housed within OMA's newly expanded museum space on the Bowery.
The exhibition matters because it offers a timely and unsettling reflection on humanity's uncertain future with technology, drawing troubling parallels between historical and contemporary forms of fascism, propaganda, and disinformation. Rather than presenting utopian or dystopian visions, Gioni's curatorial approach interrogates the myths and histories of modern technology, forcing viewers to question their own identity and relationship with machines. The show's immersive, hospital-like atmosphere challenges passive observation and underscores the visual art world's role in grappling with existential questions about human identity in an increasingly technological age.