Dream Machines

Taking its name from Brion Gysin’s legendary invention, Dream Machines at the DESTE Slaughterhouse on Hydra examines the impact of technology on the human imagination. Featuring such celebrated artists as Cao Fei, Marcel Duchamp, Wilhelm Reich, Jeff Koons, Pipilotti Rist, Pamela Rosenkranz, and Sturtevant, as well as a number of self-taught outsider artists, Dream Machines walks the line between utopia and paranoia, fearlessly exploring the interplay of man, machine, and the furthest reaches of our combined creativity. Now, in the Dream Machines exhibition catalogue, readers are invited into the world behind the show: a world both familiar and alien, where the organic and synthetic are nearly indistinguishable, and creativity is more boundless than ever. With stunning photography alongside texts by Daniel Birnbaum, Massimiliano Gioni, Michelle Kuo, and others, fresh perspectives on the future of art and innovation are illuminated. Amidst the growing prominence of AI in our daily lives, Dream Machines encourages us to reflect: can we keep up with the evolution of our own creations?