Black Hawk Paint — Addie Wagenknecht

Addie Wagenknecht

Addie Wagenknecht's artistic practice blends conceptual art with forms of hacking and gestural abstraction.

Wagenknecht is known for pioneering the use of drones in painting and other mechanized forms of art in the early 2000s while based in New York.

Her works are often recognized for their experimental co-creative aspects, exploring the relationship between technology and the vulnerabilities of being alive. Previous exhibitions and works held in permanent collections include the Centre Pompidou, Istanbul Modern, Whitechapel Gallery, Whitney Museum of American Art, and the New Museum in New York, among others. She has collaborated with CERN, Chanel, Coinbase, and Google's Art Machine Intelligence (AMI) Group. Her work has been featured in publications such as TIME, The Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair, Art in America, and The New York Times. Wagenknecht has held fellowships at Eyebeam Art + Technology Center in New York City, Culture Lab UK, Institute HyperWerk for Postindustrial Design in Basel (CH), and The Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry at Carnegie Mellon University.

Black Hawk Paint 2007-

Black Hawk Paint is a groundbreaking movement founded by Wagenknecht in 2007, centered around the innovative use of drones in action painting. She pioneered the concept of creating dynamic art through drones, employing simple flight commands like "barrel roll," "take off," and "land." Her latest creations, on vellum and canvas, feature heat- and UV-sensitive pigments that enhance the interactive experience in analog form.
Wagenknecht allows the pieces to respond organically to changes in temperature and light within the exhibition space. This interplay with chromic elements ensures that each artwork is in a constant state of transformation, making every viewing a unique experience—no piece will ever be the same twice.