Painter Wo Xinyu Investigates AI But Believes Art Is a Human Domain

New York-based Chinese painter Wo Xinyu is being celebrated in the art world for her surrealist works investigating themes of humanity and artificial intelligence. Positioning the artist as a catalyst for innovation, it seemed like an opportune time to sit down with Wo to discuss her approach, ideas that might inspire entrepreneurs and others beyond her field.

Alexandra Israel: AI seems to be on the tip of everyone’s tongue nowadays. I like your painting The Weeping AI Robot By the Lake (2024). What were you thinking?

Wo Xinyu: Before I started this painting, I was thinking: AI is a silicon-based life form driven purely by reason, while we, as carbon-based beings, are a mixture of rationality and emotion. Exploring the conflict between reason and emotion is a fascinating topic. People often view AI as omnipotent, but one day I realized that its one true weakness is its inability to genuinely replicate human emotions — even with memory functions, it remains beyond reach.

On the other hand, the weakness of humans is precisely emotion: no matter how great or rational a person is, they cannot escape it. Emotion, is it what makes humanity great, or is it our greatest vulnerability? This question led me to envision a scene: a rational female robot secretly crying by the lake, while a human quietly emerges from the water, curiously watching the robot, wondering how she could have become so emotional.

Crazy. Do you utilize any AI tools in your art-making?

Never. Artistic creation is exclusively a human domain.

I see a lot of medieval, and therefore biblical, references in your work. Some Book of Hours-esque and others The Garden of Earthly Delights. And, of course, surrealists like Salvador Dali. Can you speak about masterworks of art history and their impact on your work?

I am particularly passionate about the Renaissance masters’ understanding of line and space, while I believe the Impressionist masters achieved the most profound comprehension of color. The surrealist paintings of the early 20th century, on the other hand, opened up new possibilities for composition in my mind. Medieval art, religious imagery, and 20th-century surrealism have had a profound influence on me. Their exploration of mystery, morality, and the unknown has always fascinated me. I believe that the true masterworks of art history are those that transcend their own time and continue to engage in a dialogue with the fundamental human experience. For example, Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights captures the beauty and absurdity of human desire in an astonishing way — a theme that deeply resonates with what I seek to explore in my own work.

At this moment, I feel like a traveler standing at the end of time. I believe that great painting should build upon the achievements of past masters, while creating a unique visual language of one’s own to express reflections on the present era. We are living in a revolutionary time, and to me, the romance and madness emerging between humanity, nature, and AI are profoundly worth depicting.

What makes a good painter?

To become a good painter requires systematic learning, daily practice in the studio, and extraordinary focus.

This is an entrepreneurship magazine, so let’s talk business. How do artists benefit our economy? Do they operate within the same or a different economic system as regular businesses?

Artists operate within the traditional market economy, engaging in activities such as selling artworks and intellectual property. However, their value system differs from that of ordinary businesses. The value of art is not solely determined by supply and demand; it also encompasses cultural significance, emotional resonance, and other elements that cannot be measured by profit alone. Therefore, artists, or any creative companies, must balance profitability with the pursuit of creativity. Creativity is a privilege unique to humanity and serves as a vital economic engine, with artists at its core.

What role do you think artists can play in innovation?

Artists are catalysts of innovation. We are often the first to sense changes in society, technology, and culture, and we transform these shifts into new forms of expression.

While scientists and engineers drive innovation by solving problems, artists do so by asking different questions — about identity, meaning, and emotion.

You are from Shanghai. When were you there last? Do you still keep up with the city, and if you summarize Shanghai in one sentence, what would it be?

Shanghai is a river stitched together by memory, art, and possibility. But, strictly speaking, Shanghai is not my hometown — it’s simply the nearest major city to where I’m from. My home is in Ningbo, which is only about a one- to two-hour drive from Shanghai. However, since many people are not familiar with Ningbo, I sometimes say I’m from Shanghai. It’s similar to how someone living in Union City, New Jersey, might tell people abroad that they’re from New York.

The last time I visited Shanghai was for my second solo exhibition, a two-person show held at Object Momento Gallery. In recent years, I’ve been based in New York, and I no longer recognize the city the way I used to, but I still pay close attention to it.

What do you have coming down the pipeline?

I am currently continuing to develop a series of smaller works that further explore the tension between humanity, nature, and new technologies, while pushing the visual language even further. At the same time, I am preparing for upcoming group exhibitions, solo shows, and potential collaborations with museums.

Stay updated by following Wo Xinyu on Instagram.

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