Being a long-time fan of the artist Gretchen Andrew, we are excited that this year the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, USA, acquired two paintings from the Facetune Portrait series: Facetune Portrait – Universal Beauty and Facetune Portrait – Universal Beauty, Puerto Rico. Christiane Paul, Curator of Digital Art at the Whitney, described the acquisition as “enthusiastically and unanimously” approved by the museum’s committee, underscoring both the significance of the artworks and the growing international recognition of the artist’s practice.
Gretchen Andrew is an American artist who merges the classical traditions of oil painting with contemporary technologies, including AI, search engine manipulation, and robotics. Her work is represented in major art collections, such as the 21c Museum Hotel, RFC Art Collection, Francisco Carolinum Linz, and the Monterey Museum of Art.
Her acclaimed Facetune Portraits challenge digitally enforced standards of beauty, exposing the tension between human authenticity and algorithmic ideals. Through these series, the artist highlights the fracture between the imperfect yet authentic bodies and the polished, curated versions constructed by social media.
“AI-driven beauty standards are compressing us into a controlled and homogenized idea of beauty,” Andrew explains. “My work exposes the unseen scars of social media filters.”
Facetune Portraits: UNIVERSAL BEAUTY portrays beautiful pageant queens from around the world. By applying AI-generated beauty filters directly onto oil paintings, Gretchen Andrew unveils the process of digital “beautyfication” on canvas, exposing the messy coexistence of our physical and digital selves.
Conceived as a series of up to 100 contestants from 100 countries, UNIVERSAL BEAUTY explores the homogenising force of a single algorithmic beauty standard applied to the bodies and faces of women celebrated for their beauty worldwide.
As the AI algorithm sculpts the female form into one universal look, diversity dissolves.
The resulting works confront the viewers with the absurd yet all-too-real scars of hidden digital “perfection”, showing a shared desire not only to be beautiful but to conform, to be accepted as much by tech social media filters as by our community.
Gretchen Andrew’s work is rapidly gaining recognition on the international stage. In 2024, her Facetune Portraits were acquired by the 21c Museum, where she also won the Untitled Art Acquisition Prize. She is currently a finalist for this year’s Lumen Prize for Digital Art, and her practice has been showcased at some of the world’s leading art institutions, including Tate Modern, the V&A Museum, National Gallery X, and The Photographers’ Gallery.
Her innovative approach continues to captivate global collectors and international museums, cementing her position as one of the most innovative voices in contemporary digital art.
Website: https://www.gretchenandrew.com/
Facetune Portrait Painting Process: https://www.gretchenandrew.com/facetune-portraits/facetune-portraits-gretchen-1
Instagram: @gretchenandrew
