Tishan Hsu, a 74-year-old artist who began creating abstract paintings with sculptural elements in the 1980s, has recently gained significant recognition. His first-ever museum survey was held at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles in 2020, followed by his debut at the Venice Biennale in 2022. Now, Hsu is showing new works at Lisson Gallery in New York through January 24, his first exhibition with the gallery after joining its roster. These paintings on wood boards incorporate artificial intelligence, a tool Hsu has embraced to generate surreal imagery that merges skin, organs, and natural forms, alongside a video created using a gaming engine.
This matters because Hsu's work, which anticipated the fusion of digital technology and the body decades ago, is now more relevant than ever as AI reshapes visual culture. His use of AI as a creative tool—rather than a threat—offers a distinctive perspective in contemporary art, where many artists remain wary of the technology. Hsu's late-career surge, including his Venice Biennale participation curated by Cecilia Alemani, underscores how his prescient vision has finally found its moment, bridging analog techniques with cutting-edge digital processes.