Collective exhibition "Synthesis – Art and Technology"

O Museum of Tomorrow – cultural facility of the Rio de Janeiro City Hall under the management of IDG – Institute for Development and Management – hosts the traveling exhibition “Summary – Art and Technology in the Itaú Collection", carried out by Itaú CulturalExclusively for the Rio de Janeiro audience, the exhibition, curated by Leno Veras, includes three impactful works: FALA, by Rejane Cantoni; Robotarium, by Leonel Moura; and Odisseia, by Regina Silveira.

The exhibition is an opportunity to see firsthand how to reinvent the idea of ​​the future from the perspective of artists who investigate the relationships between human beings, technology, and the environment, proposing experiences that cross art, science, and innovation. In total, the selection comprises 12 works by creators from Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Spain, France, and Mexico.

Throughout the exhibition, the public is invited to interact with installations that demand presence, interaction, and data exchange to reveal their true poetics. Highlights include Alba, by Eduardo Kac, which presents the image of a rabbit carrying a fluorescent protein through molecular biology procedures; Eden, by Jon McCormack, a virtual ecosystem where creatures evolve and learn unpredictable behaviors through a genetic algorithm; and Life Writer, by Christa Sommerer and Laurent Mignonneau, which transforms letters typed on an old typewriter into artificial species.

New additions to the exhibition arriving in Rio include: "FALA," an installation where a microphone captures ambient sounds and a "chorus" of 40 cell phones reproduces and unfolds the identified words, conversing with each other in different languages; "Robotarium" is a kind of zoo for robotic specimens powered by lighting or solar energy; and "Odisseia" is a digital labyrinth inside a large cube, preventing one from returning along previously traveled paths.

Through these playful and scientific interactions, Síntese invites visitors to explore new ways of thinking about creativity, coexistence, and our relationship with increasingly complex systems. Visitors are challenged to reflect on the challenges of the present and the futures they wish to build collectively.

“Although unprecedented, the partnership between the Museum of Tomorrow and the Itaú Foundation is something we have been wanting and building for quite some time. We share the same cause: to connect culture and technology as structures that help us understand the challenges of our time and imagine the futures we want to build,” says Cristiano Vasconcelos, executive director of the Museum of Tomorrow, who emphasizes: “It is important to highlight that technology should never be understood as an end in itself, but as a means to expand knowledge, connections and possibilities for social transformation, with critical thinking. Therefore, it is a great joy to see this project finally come to fruition.”

Rio de Janeiro is the tenth city to host a selection from Itaú's Art and Technology Collection. Its trajectory of disseminating electronic collections includes a stop in Fortaleza, Ceará, in 2024, as well as an important international milestone with the exhibition at the Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology of Lisbon (MAAT), in Portugal, in 2022.

“We are delighted to celebrate the opening of the exhibition Synthesis: Art and Technology in the Itaú Collection, in partnership with the Museum of Tomorrow, reinforcing our commitment to expanding access to art and culture through the Itaú Collection,” comments Jader Rosa, superintendent of Itaú Cultural. “The convergence between art and technology is a constant theme at Itaú Cultural, whether in exhibitions in our space in São Paulo or in partner spaces throughout Brazil. The works in this exhibition explore various levels of dialogue between human beings, nature, and technology, in order to reveal other poetic possibilities,” he adds.