Saatchi Yates proudly presents the second solo London exhibition of Swiss artist Pascal Sender, an innovative force redefining contemporary painting in the digital era. Fusing classical techniques with cutting-edge technology, Sender’s work transforms the traditional canvas into an interactive experience where the human and mechanical merge in fluid motion. His latest body of work reimagines historical art references, replacing Boccioni’s bicycle with electrified transport and transforming a Cubist guitarist into a high-voltage rock star, bringing past and present into seamless conversation.
Sender’s artistic practice captures the raw dynamism of urban life, depicting everyday figures in states of pure flow. Skaters mid-trick, musicians lost in their rhythm, and fleeting moments of movement and expression become the heart of his compositions. His paintings, infused with freehand airbrush strokes and layered textures, oscillate between fine art traditions and the immediacy of street culture. More than just static images, his works incorporate augmented reality, allowing characters to leap from the canvas and bridging the gap between tangible and virtual worlds.
For Sender, technology is not a replacement for art but an evolving extension of it. His intuitive, freestyle process reflects this philosophy, with each piece emerging organically, guided by spontaneous marks and evolving ideas. This approach, alongside his pioneering AR integration, marks a new frontier in contemporary painting. His latest exhibition offers an unmissable exploration of art in the digital age.
Your work captures the essence of contemporary recreation in a digital age, blending the human and the mechanical. How do you see the relationship between technology and art evolving in the future?
I see technology as an evolving medium that enriches art rather than replacing it. It offers new tools for creative expression, expanding the ways we experience and interact with art. While the mechanical and digital processes may seem at odds with the human touch, they ultimately serve to amplify the subtle, intuitive aspects of artistic creation.
The exhibition features scenes that blur the line between the human and the mechanical, with figures morphing across the canvas. Can you elaborate on the inspiration behind this concept and what it means to you personally?
The concept emerges from the fluid interplay between human experience and the chaotic digital landscape. For me, inspiration isn’t a single, clear moment—it happens as the painting unfolds. I let the raw canvas guide me; sometimes a splash of color or a stray mark hints at a form, like a surfboard emerging unexpectedly, and suddenly a surfer materializes. It’s both humorous and ironic to admit that I rarely know in advance what will emerge. The process is organic and spontaneous, with each new stroke contributing to a broader dialogue between the tangible and the ephemeral.
You’ve mentioned that your compositions breathe new life into historical references, such as Boccioni’s iconic bicycle being replaced with modern electrified modes of transport. What draws you to these historical references, and how do you reinterpret them through your own artistic lens?
Historical references offer a familiar visual language that can be transformed to comment on contemporary society. By reimagining icons like Boccioni’s bicycle with modern, electrified forms, I seek to bridge the past and present. It’s a way to question how the values and aesthetics of earlier eras can be reinterpreted in today’s context without losing their original resonance.
Your style blends classical oil painting with instinctive, freehand lines sprayed through an air compressor, creating a striking contrast between tradition and the raw immediacy of street art. How do you navigate these different styles in your work?
I work by respecting the inherent qualities of each style. Classical oil painting represents a disciplined, deliberate approach, while the freehand, air-compressed lines capture immediacy and spontaneity. The challenge and pleasure lie in harmonizing these methods so that each supports the other—creating a dialogue where the precise meets the instinctual.
Beyond the canvas, you’ve integrated augmented reality into your paintings, allowing viewers to experience your works in an entirely new dimension. Could you elaborate on the significance of this fusion of painting and technology?
Integrating augmented reality into my paintings transforms a traditionally static medium into a dynamic, interactive experience. This fusion isn’t just about using new technology for its own sake—it’s about inviting viewers to explore layers of meaning beyond the surface. The AR component adds time as a dimension, as the painting transitions from a fixed image into a moving narrative that continually evolves with each viewing.
Your work has been described as elevating street life to fine art, depicting everyday characters as they transcend into a “state of flow.” What draws you to these everyday scenes, and how do you capture the dynamism and energy of these moments in your paintings?
There’s a quiet poetry in everyday urban scenes that often goes unnoticed. I’m drawn to the spontaneous energy of street life, where each moment captures a raw, unedited slice of reality. By focusing on these transient states, I attempt to immortalize the subtle dynamism of daily existence—turning ordinary interactions into visual meditations on flow and movement.
Could you discuss your creative process and how you come up with ideas for your paintings?
My creative process is completely freestyle, intuitive, and unplanned. I often find myself overwhelmed by thousands of ideas, so I jot them down and break them into doable tasks. The act of painting becomes a liberating journey—a moment-to-moment discovery where I relish not knowing exactly where it will lead. I even find myself dismantling parts of my work on the fly to reassemble and refine new ideas. The layered nature of my process lets me integrate multiple concepts into one piece, seamlessly blending analog and digital, online and offline influences.
In what ways has your style and focus evolved since your first solo show at Saatchi Yates in 2020?
Back in 2020, my focus was on completing my first self-contained app—a simple effect embedded within the work. Since then, I’ve transitioned to a fully integrated application that’s hosted on my own server and connected to the internet. This evolution means I can update my paintings dynamically: new content is uploaded, and every viewer sees the latest version instantly, without relying on third parties. This shift has opened up a realm of challenges and opportunities. As for style, it remains an ever-changing conversation; my current show curates a selection from multiple, concurrently evolving bodies of work, each reflecting the next step in my artistic journey.
