The infamous artist talks their new show Tales from a Synthetic Future – their first solo exhibition in Asia
The American digital artist Beeple (Mike Winkelmann), whose work first came to prominence with the surge in NFT sales, presents his first solo museum exhibition, Tales from a Synthetic Future, at Deji Art Museum in Nanjing. The retrospective includes some of Beeple’s best-known works, such as Everydays (2007–), an ongoing series for which the artist has committed to creating an image each day and the total now numbering over 6,000; Human One (2021), a kinetic sculpture that depicts a figure on an ever-evolving journey; and S.2122 (2023) is a kinetic sculpture that integrates elements from previous works such as Everydays and Human One, and features a ‘high-rise structure standing in a futuristic ocean environment’ whose content is updated every five years by the artist. S.2122 spotlights ‘the role of technology in shaping the world’ and highlights ‘the severity of climate issues’. Tales from a Synthetic Future also includes one of Beeple’s most recent works Exponential Growth (2024) – a generative videowork that ‘explores the intersection of nature and technology, viewing human creations as an extension of the natural world’ and features a ‘vine spiraling toward the sky, surrounded by flowers in a constant cycle of growth, bloom, and decay.’
Alongside Beeple’s exhibition, Deji Art Museum presents a section dedicated to emerging digital artists, a series of panel discussions and public programmes.
ArtReview Could you tell us about the title Tales from a Synthetic Future? It recalls collections of fables…
Beeple The title Tales from a Synthetic Future is meant to evoke a sense of storytelling far in the future, but not from a galaxy far, far away, from this world where technology and artificial intelligence have become integral to the fabric of our lives. Like fables, these works are speculative narratives drawing on current trends, cautionary at times yet also hopeful, reflecting on the complexities of a future shaped by synthetic realities. It’s about imagining how humanity and technology coexist, clash, and evolve, and using that tension to explore the human condition in a rapidly changing world that I don’t think will be dystopian or utopian, but it will be… weird.
AR What is this future that you’re envisioning defined by?
B The future I’m envisioning is one where the line between organic and synthetic blurs entirely. It’s a world where AI isn’t just a tool but a collaborator, where augmented and virtual realities become as common as the physical world. This future is defined by unprecedented connectivity and power to enact good, but also profound challenges – issues like climate change, data privacy, addiction, information overload, misinformation, memes, and the societal impacts of automation. It’s both thrilling and terrifying, and these works are my way of grappling with that duality.
AR Your series Everydays (2007–) is by nature a record of the past. How do you reconcile the past and future in this exhibition?
B Everydays is inherently a time capsule – a record of where I’ve been, culturally and creatively, every single day. But it’s also forward-looking, a daily experiment in pushing boundaries. In this exhibition, the past informs the future: the themes I’ve explored over the years – technology, society, absurdity – are the foundation for these larger speculative narratives. It’s less about reconciling the past and future and more about showing how they’re part of the same continuum. Or to put it another way, to me the Everydays sort of deal with all aspects of time… they are about the present each day, then they become a record of the past that is often a prediction of the future.
AR Your practice has continued to evolve through different mediums since you began making work in the early 2000s – have you thought about where it might go next? What would that look like?
B I’ve always been drawn to whatever medium feels the most bleeding edge and uncharted. Right now, that’s generative art, AI, and immersive environments. I think the next step involves creating fully interactive artworks where the audience becomes part of the artwork itself, not just as observers but as collaborators. I’m also fascinated by the idea of art that evolves in real time, adapting to outside data and the chaos of the real world.
AR A related question: what do you think will be the next development in digital art?
B The next big development will likely be the integration of AI into not just the creation of art but its curation and experience. Imagine galleries that adapt dynamically to the viewer, or art that responds to the real world in meaningful ways – like reacting to the climate, global events, or personal interactions. I also think blockchain technology has only scratched the surface of its potential for provenance, ownership, and interaction within the digital art space.
AR Tales from a Synthetic Future references the severity of our climate issues, but the majority of the works presented here are digital, requiring computer software to create them and screens to show them, each of which in turn require energy to continuously store and power the display of the work. If the presence of digital art continues to grow, how might the energy consumption be offset or made sustainable?
B This is a critical issue and one I think about constantly. For me, sustainability in digital art starts with embracing renewable energy sources to power the technology we use. Blockchain, for example, is moving toward more energy-efficient systems. Additionally, digital art can reduce the environmental footprint in other ways – like avoiding physical materials or the carbon cost of shipping and storing traditional works. I also think there’s a broader conversation about integrating carbon offset programmes into the production and display of digital works to ensure their impact is as minimal as possible.
AR Of the thousands of images you’ve created, is there one (or several) that you return to, or feel are particularly significant? Could you tell us about these?
B It’s hard to choose because every image represents a specific moment in time for me. But obviously one that stands out is Everydays: The First 5000 Days – it was a culmination of years of work and marked a turning point in how digital art is valued.
AR This is your first solo exhibition in Asia – at a museum that foregrounds art and technology. Could you tell us what it means to you, to show your work in this context and region?
B It’s an incredible honour. Asia has a deep history of innovation and a forward-thinking approach to technology, so to exhibit here feels like a perfect match for my work. Showing these pieces in a context where art and technology are celebrated together is deeply meaningful because it highlights how these two worlds aren’t separate – they’re intertwined, shaping our culture and our future in profound ways.
Tales from a Synthetic Future is on view at Deji Art Museum in Nanjing, China
