Charlotte Metcalf is the Editor of Great British Brands and the co-presenter of Break Out Culture, a weekly podcast with former Minister of Culture, Lord Vaizey. She is also a film-maker, author and journalist. She reports regularly for Thomas Lyte on cultural events, exhibitions, fairs and publications that are of interest to the communities of craftsmen we represent and celebrate, with a particular focus on goldsmiths and silversmiths.
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Great British Brands is an annual publication showcasing British excellence across our luxury industry. Every year, as the magazine’s editor, it’s my job, along with a team of writers, to interview the CEO of every Great British Brand. For the 2024 edition we asked how prepared brands were to embrace the exponential pace at which AI and tech were advancing.
The resulting conversations were fascinating. Some brands are choosing to ignore the impact of AI and tech. Others are interested in exploring how AI can best serve them but uncertain what the future holds. A few, among them Thomas Lyte (which joined Great British Brands last year) are enthusiastic and resolute adopters.
I was lucky enough to talk to Kevin Baker about Thomas Lyte’s attitude. He said, ‘Currently, I’m working hard with my team to recognise that success is not about firefighting and problem-solving but lateral thinking, finding alternative ways to grow and thrive. It’s why we embrace AI – not to is myopia.’
(Above image: Thomas Lyte Founder and Chief Executive, Kevin Baker)
He went on to point out the lathe didn’t exist before 1700, an indication of the way traditional skills always develop and change. He continued, ‘To excel at any traditional craft, you need great tools, so our workshops combine science lab and antiquity harmoniously. I see AI as a wonderful tool, because craft should recognise where modernity and technology leads it.’
So, I was interested to discover an exhibition, due to open at Gabriel Scott Mayfair, a Contemporary Lighting and Furniture showroom, on Old Burlington Street on 3rd May, entitled ‘AI & Technology Influence on Contemporary Painting.’ The aim is to explore technology’s impact on three contemporary painters, Jonathan Yeo, Von Wolfe, and Henry Hudson.
(Above image: Curator, art dealer and artists agent Virginia Damtsa and Designer Scott Richler)
‘I’ve always been interested in unusual collaborations,’ says curator Virginia Damtsa, ‘and I like the idea of surprise and the unexpected when awareness is brought to things people don’t know about. The power of art is to tackle important issues and these ground-breaking works are navigating the complex relationship between humanity and machines.’
(Above image: Artwork by Jonathan Yeo, from ‘Paradox of Progress’ series)
Jonathan Yeo was one of the first artists to engage with AI and is already known for his radical approach to portraiture. Now he has worked with Google Face Recognition to reimagine self-portraiture. At Gabriel Scott he’s showing six works comprising a mixture of 3D scans, AI algorithms and acrylic on board. Virginia visited him at his studio when he was experimenting with virtuality reality, ‘In his work ‘Paradox of Progress’, you could see a lot of movement in the face and how obstructed it was,’ she says, ‘but now the technology is so advanced that there is no longer that abstraction and a face can be precisely rendered and the boundaries between the tangible and virtual are blurred.’
(Above image: ‘Euphoria’s Embrace’ by Von Wolfe)
Von Wolfe manipulates AI and uses cutting-edge node-based system diffusion models to cultivate visual narratives. Usually, he works with oil on canvas, but for this show he’s created a lightbox as well as a painting. ‘His works showcase astounding precision and the pictures are very beautiful,’ says Virginia, ‘but when you look at the faces, they look tortured as if they’re feeling and absorbing the pain of today’s world.’
Henry Hudson’s two works also suggest the hysteria and anxiety provoked by AI and questions whether it doesn’t ultimately control us, and his new series Somewhere in Time represents a metaphor for our fluid existence in our digital age. ‘While there’s a very realistic element to his paintings, we don’t know where we are or in what time and so there’s a stressful psychological element too,’ says Virginia. ‘After all, there’s no straightforward answer to whether AI aids artists’ development or creates problems and challenges the authenticity of their work.’
(Above image: Arwork by Henry Hudson, from ‘Somewhere in Time’ series)
The show will run until September and along the way incorporate numerous panel discussions. Ultimately, Gabriel Scott Mayfair and Virginia Damtsa are collaborating to transform the gallery into a dynamic hub for unconventional artistic projects, acting like a lab to nurture experimentation, innovation and new ideas. In a similar vein, Kevin Baker talked of combining ‘science lab and antiquity harmoniously’ in the Thomas Lyte workshops.
Increasingly the art world is going to be turning to new tools to experiment. For example, there is soon to be a show at the Rebecca Hossack Gallery of digitally manipulated photographs by the artist Jim Naughten, which question our acceptance of the natural world.
(Above image: ‘Cynosure’ by Von Wolfe)
Virginia Damtsa has mounted a show at Gabriel Scott to appeal to anyone who is exploring how AI can aid craft as well as art, and in particular the impact it can have on the traditional skills of silversmiths like Thomas Lyte. As Kevin Baker said to Great British Brands, ‘AI is still in its infancy and while some are afraid of it, the reality is humans will adapt. And for businesses like ours, technology is explosively exciting because we can create a fantastic piece of animated silverware to look at it from 360 degrees in all its glory. And technology helps connect with more humans globally, meaning we’re able to work effortlessly with countries all over the world.’
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Images courtesy of Gabriel Scott Mayfair.
Read about our press mentions and awards for the project
We have selected a number of case studies that demonstrate the broad range of our capabilities designing and making in precious metals.
