The video examines the dynamic relationship between London's historic art market hub and the emerging influence of digital and AI art. London, as a city rich in cultural heritage, houses some of the world's most prestigious auction houses like Phillips, which has started incorporating digital and AI art into its offerings. This move indicates a recognition of the significant role that technology is playing in reshaping the art market landscape.

Among the showcased artists is Su Guen Chung, who brings a unique background of artistry and technology, using robotic performance and biofeedback to create art. Chung represents a fusion of traditional and avant-garde methods, highlighting an important trend where technology not only enhances artistic expression but also deepens audience engagement through interactive and innovative mediums.

Main takeaways from the video:

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Key Vocabularies and Common Phrases:

1. ecosystem [ˈiːkəʊˌsɪstəm] - (noun) - A complex network or interconnected system. - Synonyms: (system, environment, network)

The UK has one of the largest shares of the global art market and much of that ecosystem is centred right here in London.

2. vanguard [ˈvænɡɑrd] - (noun) - The leading position or group in a movement or field. - Synonyms: (forefront, cutting edge, lead)

We've typically been at the vanguard of what is contemporary and new at Philips here.

3. steadfast [ˈstɛdfɑːst] - (adjective) - Firmly fixed in place, not subject to change. - Synonyms: (unwavering, resolute, firm)

There's such a steadfast notion of tradition here in London that is really the bedrock of really exciting innovation moving forward.

4. intersection [ˌɪntərˈsɛkʃən] - (noun) - A point where two things cross or meet. - Synonyms: (crossing, convergence, junction)

We've got this exhibition here that has eight leading voices at this fascinating intersection of technology and art.

5. catalyze [ˈkætəlˌaɪz] - (verb) - To cause or accelerate a process or action. - Synonyms: (provoke, stimulate, trigger)

I wanted to think about ways to catalyze different ways of understanding and working with collaboration.

6. hybrid [ˈhaɪbrɪd] - (adjective / noun) - Something made by combining two different elements; a mixture. - Synonyms: (composite, amalgam, combination)

My mother is a computer programmer and my father is an opera singer. So we really grew up in the house with really hybrid and really different types of influences.

7. innovation [ˌɪnəˈveɪʃən] - (noun) - The introduction of new ideas, methods, or products. - Synonyms: (novelty, creativity, invention)

There's such a steadfast notion of tradition here in London that is really the bedrock of really exciting innovation moving forward

8. interiority [ˌɪntəˈriːərɪti] - (noun) - The quality of being inward or interior; inner character or nature. - Synonyms: (inner life, introspection, internal focus)

A lot of my work is sort of concerned with interiority and selfhood.

9. threshold [ˈθreʃhoʊld] - (noun) - The level at which something begins or changes. - Synonyms: (brink, verge, starting point)

The body of work is called Thin Places. We've marked threshold with soft carpeting and built these two walls and the stained glass.

10. multidisciplinary [ˌmʌltɪˈdɪsɪplɪnəri] - (adjective) - Combining or involving several academic disciplines or fields of study. - Synonyms: (interdisciplinary, cross-disciplinary, multifaceted)

I'm Charlotte Edie and I'm a multidisciplinary artist based in London.

London's historic art scene is getting a tech upgrade

The UK has one of the largest shares of the global art market and much of that ecosystem is centred right here in London. This city's art scene is steeped in history and has helped lay the foundations for much of today's global market, with some of the world's most prestigious auction houses first opening here as far back as the 1700s, including Phillips. Founded by Harry Phillips in 1796, the house was initially known for selling paintings from Marie Antoinette's estate. Today, Phillips sells everything from jewelry to modern and contemporary art. And proving it's still at the fore. Throughout Frieze Week, the house is hosting an exhibition and private sale of digital and AI art called Spacers, as part of a collaboration with local gallery Hoffa.

We have all the big auctions over fries, but we've got a whole department running private sales which is really sourcing individuals artworks that they're looking for. But behind the scenes, privately, we also have Philips X, which is the platform for private sales and selling exhibitions, which, as you can see, Spaces is part of the Philips X platform and the exhibition program that we have.

Talk Me through Spaces, the exhibition. We've got this exhibition here that has eight leading voices at this fascinating intersection of technology and art. And I think it's Phillips recognizing the importance and significance of AI arts in the kind of broader art market. The fact that we've got this on over the Frieze Art Fair, which is our busiest time of the year, you can go downstairs and we have some of the great 20th century painters like Hockney and Warhol, but we really want to be able to have something fresh and new.

We've typically been at the vanguard of what is contemporary and new at Philips here. So it's so important that we have a show like Spaces on that's concurrent with our traditional auction offerings downstairs. And talking about AI and technology and art, there are those critics that say it isn't AI is affecting the way that we live our lives, the way that we work, the way we communicate, the way that we research within the art world.

It's been sort of bubbling away, burning away for a while and it's suddenly caught fire for us. There was this breakthrough moment in 2018 when we had a work by Edmund de Belemy which sold for over $400,000. It was the first time there was a AI related artwork sold at a traditional auction house. One of the works for sale at this exhibition is Spectral by Chinese Canadian artist Su Guen Chung, who has a studio in London.

My mother is a computer programmer and my father is an opera singer. So we really grew up in the house with really hybrid and really different types of influences, both in the arts and both in the sciences. So that was really one of the foundations of my interest in education and what I'm doing now. I was a researcher at MIT Media Lab and from there became really interested in ways to extend the human hand.

I've been drawing my whole life, like many artists, and I wanted to think about ways to catalyze different ways of understanding and working with collaboration, working with gesture in a way that I could really take ownership of and really explore in my own way. I work primarily with robotic performance and artifacts, which means translating the digital movement data, spatial data, into really tangible works that can be experienced by an audience and can be felts in space.

I started this exploration in 2014 in my very first drawing operations project I call the collaborative system that I designed, Drawing Operations Unit Generation One. We began with mimicry, in which a very simple overhead camera was tracing the mark of my gesture and repeating it in real time. Then we moved on to the idea of memory, where I trained a robotic unit, the second generation, on two decades of my own drawing data.

And it was really, really interesting because we could see my own stylistic input, my own decision making, you know, transferred and translated into a machine system. This recent collaboration is really going inward and really thinking about our own biofeedback. I've used a brainwave headset to measure my own meditation brainwaves. So the work you see behind is outcome of my collaborating with my own biofeedback.

There's such a steadfast notion of tradition here in London that is really the bedrock of really exciting innovation moving forward. I'm really curious about designing in a way that benefits artists, collectors and institutions for the next hundred years. Just around the corner from Phillips in the heart of London's Mayfair, I caught up with Ilio Dana at Sugwen's Gallery Hoff. The Sogwen Chung spectral piece is set at US$35,000.

There are definitely several buyers lined up to buy the work, so it will sell. And how has it gone? How's the collaboration with Philips? The feedback has been amazing. The whole team at Philips has been wonderful and we're very happy with the whole installation. The bespoke robotic system of Seguin is very exciting and there are some what I would call classics in the whole exhibition.

How much are Gen Z and the Millennials part of this new market? So we did an analysis about five years ago and we saw that our target was more in the 35 to 45 year old buyers, almost 50, 50 men and women. But now we are seeing more than 25 to 35 buyers. I think it's something that can be noticed across luxury markets overall that the buying power is younger.

But of course, in order to really connect with the millennial buyer, you need to present yourself as a brand in a certain way and you need to always adapt and you need to be very fluid, I think. How do you think technology is going to impact art going forward? When it comes to digital, what is still complicated is perhaps how to collect.

So we also developing sets of screens in different sizes and so on to make it more acceptable, to make it more collectible, to have it in your home. After months of planning and preparation, Frieza's opened its doors for 2024 in London's Regents Park. Around 60000 visitors are expected to attend the fair this week, making this the highlight of not just London, but the UK art scene's calendar.

We have been going for 21 years now and it's a meeting point. We have over 160 galleries from 42 countries coming to present the work of the artists. And it's really the moment where the entire art world community comes together. So there's a lot happening inside the tent. We also have sections dedicated to younger galleries and younger artists.

Focus, which is where we're standing right now. The Focus section hosts 34 galleries that must have been in operation for less than 12 years, each presenting work by just one artist. One of those galleries is Ginny on Frederick, which is presenting work by artist Charlotte Eady. I'm Charlotte Edie and I'm a multidisciplinary artist based in London.

A lot of my work is sort of concerned with interiority and selfhood. These spaces where the body and mind meet. And so I consider a lot of these almost emotive structures. This particular show draws on the sort of image of interior space, of the house, of the domestic space, and how that can be used as a vehicle to explore a more emotional, bodily or psychological structure.

I start with pencil drawings and then develop them into pastel works. And the pastel drawings form the basis for the Jacquard tapestry, which I then hand bead and present in these artist frames or found objects. So I suppose it's sort of like a threefold practice in terms of materials.

This show is something that I've been wanting to do for a really long time. I've historically worked on quite an intimate scale. It actually felt just really exciting to push and expand and see. How do you, like, maintain these, like, levels of intimacy or these levels of intrigue on something that's significantly bigger?

So it's been like a real privilege to work on this body of work, to have the time and the space to devote to really pushing into a sort of more ambitious space. After five days of freeze, it's time to see how the experience has been for this first time exhibitor. The body of work is called Thin Places.

We've marked threshold with soft carpeting and built these two walls and the stained glass. So actually, I think when you're in the booth, you do get this sense of separation. You're able to engage more intimately, I think, with these quiet works. So I hope that people have a moment of respite amongst all the chaos.

This is your first time at Fries London. What's the experience been like for you? It's been incredible, honestly. We're so happy with the reception and the footfall. Yeah, it's been a whirlwind, but it's been amazing. Over 60,000 visitors are expected to have visited Fries this week.

What does that kind of visibility do for you? We've had some really amazing conversations on the booth. We're thrilled with the interest and the reaction. You know, I grew up in London, like, Fries is very much like London's fair, so it really is quite like a sentimental space for me.

So, yeah, I'm just so thrilled to show the work here. Your gallery, Ginny on Frederick, they've said that it's actually been a very successful time for them and most of everything is sold. How does that make you feel? I mean, I'm over the moon, I think. You know, these were.

They're sort of different works. They're very new, like, they've never been shown before. And so everything about this experience has been new. And so for them to have this much of a, like, positive reception, not just commercially but personally and, like, the interactions we've had, the conversations we've had, like, yeah, I'm over the moon, I really can ask for more.

So a successful week for Charlotte, but how much confidence is there more widely? Last year, there was a decline, decline in sales within the art market. How is 2024 looking at the fair? It's looking great. We have collectors coming from all over the world.

We have a great contingent of collectors from Asia, collectors from America, collectors from the rest of Europe. So this is really a moment that feels really positive and exciting. What sets Frise London, aside from all the other art fairs around the world, I think Fries London very much encapsulates the creative energy of London as a city.

There's a certain spirit of innovation and experimentation that comes with London, and the fair really reflects this. And then in terms of the market, the UK still has the third largest share of the art world global market, and larger share than the rest of Europe put together. So it's a really important place for the market.

But it's also been historically and still today is a really creative spot and a really important place for artists and the entire community to come together. France's largest art fair, rebranded as Art basel Paris in 2022, which in a post Brexit landscape some critics are now citing as competition for London's Freeze. It's not either or.

It's not really about pitching cities one against the other. I think it's a great moment for Europe. You have to look at it as a sort of European moment with London continuing to be as great as it's always been, and then Paris proposing something new. And it's a wonderful moment for, you know, collectors from all over the world to come and maybe experience both scenes at the same time.

So there's that too. And what about the Gen Z and the Millennial buyers? They're now very much part of the market. What do you do to attract them? We have an online viewing room called Freeze viewing room.

And so, you know, we know that the younger generation is really comfortable with buying works online, comfortable with discovering what the fair has to offer online. So we have been working a lot on this. And then, I think, you know, sections like the focus sections, which are representing younger artists, is very much thinking about this sort of generational switch and thinking about the kind of artists that also younger collectors are interested in supporting.

There's a lot of increase now in online sales. Do you see that as an opportunity for Freeze? It's a huge opportunity. I will say, though, that nothing replaces the experience of seeing art in real life. And as technology evolves, then perhaps one day it will feel the same way as it does.

But there is something really special about being at the fair. Everyone is here to share their love of art and to share this with the widest possible audience. So it's very much still about what happens inside the tent as well as a growing interest for what's happening online.

Eva, thank you so much for talking to me. Okay, lovely to talk to.

Art, Technology, Innovation, London Art Scene, Digital Art, Ai Art, Cnbc International