Patrick Tresset's robotic drawing installations explore creativity and technology at Etro's London showroom

Patrick Tresset's robotic art installations are currently displayed at Etro's London showroom for two weeks, investigating the relationship between creativity and advanced technology. The French artist, originally a painter, transitioned to robotics two decades ago to recapture spontaneous mark-making he felt he had lost. His mechanical drawing arm creates expressionistic portraits when a person sits in a chair, using a digital camera and ballpoint pen to produce scratchy, nervous marks that challenge expectations of mechanical reproduction. Jacopo Etro, creative director of the family-run fashion label, selected this work to celebrate Etro's 50th anniversary, noting his fascination with technology despite personal reservations. The installation features a retro-futuristic setup with a wooden chair, spotlight, schooldesk, and mechanical arm that draws portraits over several minutes. Tresset's work previously appeared in a 2016 collaboration with Goshka Macuga at Fondazione Prada. The artist's robots provoke questions about what constitutes human expression in art, design, and pattern-making, examining the difference between reproduction and imaginative elaboration. This exploration occurs as artificial intelligence increasingly mimics creative processes, raising questions about maintaining artisanal practices in a technological age. Etro was drawn to the surprising liveliness of the robot-generated portraits, recognizing something akin to creative impulse in their execution.