Varvara & Mar
| Varvara & Mar | |
|---|---|
| File:Varvara-Guljajeva-and-Mar-Canet-byNajhin.pngFile:Varvara-Guljajeva-and-Mar-Canet-byNajhin.png Varvara Guljajeva and Mar Canet Solà, photo by Najhin | |
| Born | 1983 (age 42–43) (Guljajeva)1981 (age 44–45) (Canet Solà) Estonia; Spain |
| 🏳️ Nationality | Estonian; Spanish |
| 🏫 Education | Estonian Academy of Arts; University of Art and Design Linz; Tallinn University |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| Known for | New media art; interactive installation; digital art |
| Movement | Digital art; AI art |
| 🌐 Website | https://var-mar.info |
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Varvara & Mar is an Estonian–Spanish artist duo founded in 2009 by Varvara Guljajeva (b. 1983, Estonia) and Mar Canet Solà (b. 1981, Spain). Working at the intersection of art, technology and society, they produce interactive installations and public artworks that integrate artificial intelligence, robotics, digital fabrication and audience participation."About". Varvara & Mar. They have exhibited extensively internationally in venues such as Barbican(London), Ars Electronica (Linz), ZKM(Kalsrue), Arts Santa Mònica(Barcelona), Carme Contemporary Culture Centre(Valencia), MAD (New York), and many more.
Early life and education
Varvara Guljajeva holds a PhD in art from the Estonian Academy of Arts, awarded for her dissertation From Interaction to Post-Participation: The Disappearing Role of the Active Participant.Mar Canet Solà is a PhD candidate at the Baltic Film, Media and Arts School of Tallinn University, researching Opening a Toolbox of Artistic Strategies with Generative AI. He also holds an MA in Interface Cultures from the University of Art and Design Linz and degrees in Electronic Art, Digital Design and Game Development.
Career
The duo co-founded Varvara & Mar studio in Tallinn, Estonia, in 2009. Their work explores digital culture, artificial intelligence and the role of the user in the interactive age.
Exhibitions and collaborations
Their work has been shown at:
Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), New York
ZKM, Karlsruhe
Barbican Centre and V&A Museum, London
Ars Electronica, Linz
FACT, Liverpool
Onassis Cultural Centre, Athens
Santa Mònica, Barcelona They have collaborated with organizations such as Google, the Max Planck Institute, and various European cultural festivals.
Notable projects
Wishing Wall (2014): Commissioned by Google and exhibited at the Barbican Centre’s "Digital Revolution," this installation translates whispered wishes into animated butterflies.
Circular Knitic (2014): An open‑source, digitally fabricated circular knitting machine combining 3D printing, laser‑cut plexiglas and Arduino to integrate textile manufacturing into the makers’ culture; commissioned by Ayuntamiento Zaragoza for the DOERS exhibition at Etopia, Zaragoza."Circular Knitic". Varvara & Mar. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
Neuronal Landscapes (2018): A data‑driven, AI‑assisted artwork commissioned by the Estonian History Museum.
We Are the Clouds (2020): An urban screen projection involving local community participation, developed during a residency at Surrey Art Gallery, Canada."Varvara & Mar: We Are the Clouds". Surrey Art Gallery. 7 February 2020. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
Dream Painter (2022): An interactive installation combining speech‑to‑image AI generation and robotics, exhibited at ACM Multimedia in Lisbon."Dream Painter". ACM Digital Library. arXiv:2408.14644. doi:10.1145/3678698.3687185. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
Chameleon (2018–2020): A recurring exhibition examining identity in a globalized world, presented in Canada, Spain and Estonia."Varvara & Mar: Chameleon". Kunstihoone. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
Psychedelic Trips (2022): A solo exhibition investigating AI aesthetics, presented at ISEA 2022 in Barcelona."ISEA 2022: Psychedelic Trips". HKUST. 25 June 2022. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
Awards and recognition
2024: AI Residency, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin
2023: Residency, ECAL Lausanne – “A Third Hand” project
2022: MediaFutures EU S+T+ARTS award for “Time‑lapse migration”
2021: Acquisition by the Generalitat de Catalunya for the national contemporary art collection
2021: Tallinn University Best Creative Project – NeuroKnitting Beethoven
2016: 1st Prize in public art competition, NUKU Theatre, Tallinn
Publications
Guljajeva, Varvara; Canet Solà, Mar. “We Are the Clouds: Strategies for Combining Interaction and Participation in Urban Media Art.” Proceedings of ISEA 2024.
Guljajeva, Varvara; Canet Solà, Mar. “Visions of Destruction: Exploring the Potential of Generative AI in Interactive Art.” VINCI 2024.
Guljajeva, Varvara; Canet Solà, Mar. “Loading Ceramics: Robotics in Ceramics.” IEEE VISAP 2024.
Guljajeva, Varvara; Canet Solà, Mar. “Artistic Strategies to Guide Neural Networks.” ISEA 2023.
Guljajeva, Varvara; Canet Solà, Mar. “Interactive NeuroKnitting.” VINCI 2023.
Guljajeva, Varvara; Canet Solà, Mar. “Explaining CLIP through Co‑Creative Drawings.” ICCC 2023.
Collections
Their work is held in the permanent collections of:
Estonian History Museum — Neuronal Landscapes (2018)"Neuronal Landscapes". Varvara & Mar. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
Catalonia’s National Collection of Contemporary Art — Data Shop (2017)"Data Shop". Varvara & Mar. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
Voronja Gallery Sculpture Garden — The Rhythm of Wind(2021)"About". Varvara & Mar. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
Gdansk City Gallery — Baltic Sea Radio (2012)"Baltic Sea Radio". Varvara & Mar. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
Verbeke Foundation, Belgium — Budgie Waltz (2012)"Budgie Waltz". Varvara & Mar. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
Heinz Nixdorf MuseumsForum — Humans need not count (2017)"Budgie Waltz". Varvara & Mar. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
News
In August 2024, Varvara & Mar joined the Artist & AI Residency at the Center for Humans and Machines, Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin (August–December 2024)."Artist duo joins Artist & AI Residency". Max Planck Institute for Human Development. 30 August 2024. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
On 7 May 2025, they presented work at Tabakalera in San Sebastián as part of the "Art, Science, Technology and Society" programme."Varvara & Mar". Tabakalera. 7 May 2025. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
Artist books
Wikipedia Tallinn (2015)
Wikipedia Buenos Aires (2019)
ENA (2021)
Dream Painting (2022)
Portrait Fever (2024)
References
External links
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