COLLECTOR’S CHOICE - Alternatives by Espen Kluge
Alternatives by Espen Kluge is a generative portrait series created through custom code and data collected from photographs. It employs algorithmic processes to reinterpret human faces, focusing on individuality, structure, and improvisation. The work represents a key moment where traditional portraiture meets contemporary, generative digital methods.
Espen Kluge, she really thinks about it, 2019
The Norwegian-born composer, visual artist, and creative coder Espen Kluge has always been interested in the inward, exploratory, and meditative yet chaotic, qualities of the creative process. This sensibility is reflected in his approach to portraiture, where the human face becomes a surface to explore inner states, emotional mapping, and algorithmic interpretation.
Portraiture has a long and complex history in art. Traditionally, it has served to record, idealize, or convey the status of its subjects. In the 20th century, artists began to challenge the idea of likeness, exploring how form and abstraction could also express inner character. This shift is especially evident in the works of Russian Constructivist artists like Naum Gabo, who emphasized structure, geometry, and the dynamic use of space. The influence is reflected in Kluge’s portraits.
Naum Gabo, Head No. 2, 1916 (enlarged version 1964), Source: tate.org.uk
Kluge’s renowned Alternatives portrait project began in 2013 while he was working on an interactive portrait logo for his website and developed a piece of JavaScript code that transformed photographs into colorful, vector-based images. He returned to this idea later, in 2019, refining the code, which works by looping through image pixels, selecting some semi-randomly, and connecting them with lines. The final result depended on the source image, so he selected portraits with expressive features, strong lighting, and rich skin tones.
Espen Kluge, slowly passing, 2019
The final series comprises 100 unique portraits, each of which feels emotive, especially when compared to traditional generative art, which can often be cold, geometric, and repetitive. The images draw from both figurative and abstract traditions, emphasizing form and rhythm. Vibrant colors and compositional geometry convey a sense of motion and psychological depth. The works were first exhibited in 2019 at Kate Vass Galerie in Zurich, curated by ArtNome. It was one of the early shows to present NFTs alongside physical artworks in a gallery context.
Espen Kluge, little ability, 2019
Three years later, in 2022, he revisited the same dataset with a new algorithm, resulting in the Lyrical Convergence series. Shown for the first time at the “Dear Machine, Paint for Me” exhibition in Zurich, this new body of work moved further into abstraction, translating facial data into forms that suggest emotional states and the inner nature of these figures rather than specific human features.
Espen Kluge, Lyrical Convergence #50, 2022
While Alternatives retained a visual link to portraiture, Lyrical Convergence introduced more abstract, fluid, and centralized forms. The compositions focus on organic shapes, monochrome backgrounds, soft color palettes, and unified line structures, drawing on the aesthetics of lyrical abstraction, especially the works of Georges Mathieu.
8/ The two series form a conceptual and technical pair. They explore how the same data can yield different outcomes through changes in algorithmic structure. This transformation from Alternatives' structured figurative forms to the abstractions of Lyrical Convergence illustrates Kluge’s interest in the mechanics behind how we perceive images and how they are constructed through generative processes.
Pieces from Kluge’s Alternatives series are part of the collection of Bharat Krymo, Museum of Crypto Art, WangXiang, and many more.
Espen Kluge, Lyrical Convergence #49, 2022