David Szauder—Folkloric Robots, Prints (2024)



David Szauder's group of works "Folkloric Robots" is a profound reflection on the interplay of tradition and innovation. From the title to the motif, his work creates a symphony of contrasts that is as striking as it is harmonious. In doing so, he subtly breaks with the viewer's expectations and raises relevant social questions.

He builds his own software and feeds it a private archive rather than the open internet: Hungarian newspaper clippings from the 1980s, Burda pattern sheets, old manuals, a poem by Dezső Kosztolányi typed by his grandfather on yellowing paper. The images are generated, but the material is his own.
His solo exhibitionGlitches & Gloryopened at Elza Kayal Gallery, New York, in 2025, alongside the monograph of the same name published by Gestalten. The same year he spoke at TED Next on the cultural implications of artificial intelligence.
TheFolkloric Robotsseries is shown through LUMAS galleries in 21 countries. Between 2023 and 2025 he founded and led the first AI Storytelling Course at Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design in Budapest.
In 2025 he made animations for Jean-Michel Jarre's concert tour. His 2022 cover for The Washington Post Magazine received the British Creative Cover of the Year award, and theSphereswallpaper collection received an EDIDA Award in 2025. He has worked with the Ars Electronica Festival since 2023, and his work has been published by Oxford University Press.
He holds an MA in Intermedia from the Hungarian University of Fine Arts.