The Universe According to Sang Huoyao—and His Humanoid Robot
At the opening of his solo exhibition “Brushstrokes of the Universe” at the Museum of Art Pudong (MAP) in Shanghai, artist Sang Huoyao performed a walk-through with a humanoid robot made by Unitree (Hangzhou). Titled How to Explain Painting to a Living Robot (2026), the performance referenced Joseph Beuys’s 1965 action How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare, raising questions about painting, emotion, and identity in the age of AI. The exhibition was curated by Beijing-based Jonas Stampe, and the robot was presented as able to visually recognize artworks but not “feel” them.
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