Gray Area Grand Theater: Gretchen Andrew: Facetune Portraits (Opening Night)

On the occasion of SF Art Week 2025, Gray Area is pleased to announce an exhibition of newly commissioned oil paintings by Gretchen Andrew.
Opening Night: January 23, 4 – 8PM

Facetune Portraits contemplates the near-ubiquitous contemporary practice of digital, AI-enabled body modification. Weaving conceptual and practical threads from traditions in both generative art and traditional portraiture, Gretchen Andrew creates oil paintings that examine changing perceptions of beauty in the algorithmic age.

Algorithmic filters—readily available on social media platforms and video communication tools—promise a more ‘appealing’ version of ourselves. Gretchen challenges this ideal by employing custom-built robotics to physically apply ‘beautifying’ algorithms on to wet oil paintings.

For her portraits at Gray Area, Gretchen conducted sittings with prominent Bay Area figures. After painting each subject’s likeness by hand, Gretchen uses her custom robotics to transform the image—applying a machinic stroke to paint algorithmic ‘beautifying’ changes to the subject’s appearance. The resulting Facetune Portraits render visible the dissonance between our natural state and the technologically-perfected image, coexisting uncomfortably on the canvas.

Each unique, one-of-one painting is available for sale. Please direct all inquiries to wade@grayarea.org