Art21, in partnership with the CHANEL Culture Fund, launched its new "IRL/url" documentary series with a celebratory event at New York's Roxy Cinema. The series profiles eight contemporary artists—including Neïl Beloufa, Jacky Connolly, and Sara Cwynar—who navigate the blended realms of physical and digital creation. Art21's executive director emphasized the urgency of capturing this moment, as artists grapple with rapid technological advances, particularly in AI.
The series and event underscore a critical shift in contemporary art, highlighting a generation for whom the digital and physical are inextricably linked. By focusing on artists who use personal data, genetic code, and digital tools to explore identity and society, "IRL/url" documents a defining artistic ethos of the mid-2020s, moving beyond mere metrics to value the creative process itself in a technologically saturated world.