Kenny Schachter

The jumping off point for Kenny Schachter’s first solo exhibition with Jupiter Gallery in New York is Walter Benjamin’s seminal 1935 essay The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, which argues that techniques for reproducing art, namely film and photography, devalue the notion of originality and rob art of its aura. Benjamin's ideas—and Schachter’s work expanding upon them—are timely as we grapple with questions of authenticity, uniqueness, and the role of the artist in an increasingly automated creative landscape.

A series of canvases on view span an array of subject matter, including photographs (unique images, as well as manipulated appropriations), computer-crafted text works, and reinterpretations of traditional modes of abstraction. They were made through a collaboration with Matr Labs, which develops bespoke robotic hardware to transform digital imagery into richly textured oil paintings.

Accompanying the paintings are life-sized fiberglass sculptures of bodies modeled on the very latest robots from companies like Boston Robotics. Costly consumer-ready gadgets that are already on the market, they resemble humans or pets, but are really just banal tools for household chores or weak substitutes for companionship. Schachter’s figures are satirical versions of these products, featuring modified heads from 1950s-era toys that vaguely evoke self-portraiture.

There are also iterations of an ongoing series of aluminum cubes with 3D letters jutting off their sides, with robo-head reliefs (referencing the above sculptures) where the letter O should be. These objects play with language and dimensionality, like concrete poetry slid off the page.

The juxtaposition between the high-tech painting system and the retro-styled sculptures invites reflection on how our understanding of robots and automation has (or hasn’t) evolved over time. Schachter’s works neither celebrate nor wholly criticize various forms of computer automation; rather, they explore the implications of technology through multiple lenses.

Kenny Schachter is a New York-based artist, writer, and curator whose practice painting, sculpture, digital media, and critical discourse. Over the past three decades, he has remained at the forefront of discussions on art and technology, interrogating the intersections of authorship, automation, and the commodification of creativity.

His work has been exhibited internationally at institutions and galleries including Francisco Carolinum (Linz), Nagel Draxler Crypto Kiosk (Berlin), Charim Galerie (Vienna), Kantor Gallery (Los Angeles), and Simon Lee Gallery (London). He has contributed writings to publications such as Artnet, New York Magazine, The Times Magazine and The Guardian.