Artists

Ian Cheng

A promotional image for a video game, where a woman points a gun at semi-abstract figures spilling forth from a doorway

Criticism

Avatar as Subject, Artist as Avatar

Two exhibitions that engage with the trendy notion of “worldbuilding” offer different visions of what the role of audiences in artist-conceived worlds can be.

A digital image of a gray landscape with a yellow puddle in the middle and small gray humanoid creatures clustered around it

Criticism

How Does It Make You Feel?

Looking at works by Ian Cheng, Refik Anadol, and Jon Rafman involves a sensory awareness of the AI engaged behind the scenes.

Conversations

Ian Cheng & Beeple

Two forward-thinking artists exchange perspectives on gaming, worldbuilding, and the metaverse.

A gray face with a sly smile emerges from liquid; just below the surface, a sleeping green imp nestles against a tentacled blue shape

Criticism

Personal Daemons

Ian Cheng’s personality test for NFT collectors connects the impulses toward speculation and introspection.

Guest editor Shumon Basar offers stories, strategies, and speculations for an era after the end of eras. Predicting the FUturee

A cartoon man stands alone in thought, sandwiched between indistinct photographs of a parking lot and a city at night