Agnieszka Pilat, a Polish artist born in Łódź who has earned the title of "Silicon Valley's favorite artist," has made a triumphant return to her hometown with a revolutionary art installation created in collaboration with her four-legged robot companion named Basia. The groundbreaking exhibition marks Pilat's first-ever showcase in Poland, despite her international acclaim and widespread recognition in the global art community.
As an artist-in-residence at both SpaceX and Agility Robotics, Pilat has established herself as one of the most distinctive and pioneering voices in contemporary art, gaining widespread attention for her innovative work with robotic technology. Her artwork has been featured in major publications including Elle, Forbes, The Guardian, and Vogue, and has become a permanent fixture in the art collections of numerous major West Coast corporations. Her work even appeared in the 2021 Keanu Reeves blockbuster film "The Matrix Resurrections."
Despite her growing reputation as a global art phenomenon, Pilat had never exhibited her work in Poland until now. "It's just one of those things," she explained to TVP World. "I've been so focused on making a name as an artist in the States, I've simply not had the time to exhibit in Poland. For outsiders, my life probably looks easy, but in truth it feels like I'm always running around with a pair of scissors in my hands."
In October, Pilat returned to the city of her youth to create an unprecedented tapestry installation at the Central Museum of Textiles as part of the 18th International Triennial of Textiles in Łódź. While Pilat has since returned to her San Francisco base, Basia has remained in Poland to complete the ambitious project, which is scheduled to finish at the end of November. This marks the first-ever installation of its type in Europe, representing a historic fusion of traditional craftsmanship and cutting-edge technology.
Pilat treats Basia as an apprentice artist, programming the robot dog to weave intricate patterns onto canvas. The technology behind Basia's programming draws inspiration from the Jacquard loom, a machine that played a crucial role in the Industrial Revolution and the development of Łódź itself. This connection creates a powerful sense of historical continuity, bringing the narrative full circle from past to present.
"When I think of the Industrial Revolution, I think of the importance of textiles in shaping it," Pilat observed. "The punch cards used in the early loom eventually inspired IBM's computing systems, and now, my robots use similar logic. There's a beautiful continuity to that. You see how technology has evolved yet has stayed rooted in the same fundamental language."
For Pilat, exhibiting in Łódź carries deep personal significance beyond the artistic achievement. Often describing herself as "working for the machine," it was in this very city that she first encountered the transformative power of technology. Growing up in a family that didn't own a car or telephone, they did possess a radio that played Chopin "day and night," serving as her parents' lifeline to the outside world.
Pilat fondly recalls how her parents would secretly gather to listen to broadcasts from Radio Free Europe, a banned Western station that delivered uncensored news behind the Iron Curtain. "I remember seeing my parents come out of the room with the radio, their eyes filled with a sentiment I didn't understand at the time—it was hope," she remembered. "That crackly radio was the first time I saw the miracle of technology."
The collapse of communism opened new possibilities for generations of Poles, including Pilat's family. For her father, it meant he could finally afford a car, which was essential for launching his own business. "Before that, like many Poles in that era, he drank heavily, but he stopped when he bought the car," Pilat recalled. "That was another seminal early moment when a machine truly changed my life."
Pilat moved to California in 2004, seeking a clean break from her past and new opportunities. Initially, she struggled to establish herself, getting fired from her first job as a gym receptionist after just one week before taking work in a cafe and enrolling in art college. Her breakthrough came when she met Paul Stein, a developer who built Airbnb's headquarters and commissioned her to paint a portrait of a machine—specifically, a fire alarm.
"Meeting Paul Stein was a real game-changer," she explained. "Not just as a connection, but because that commission pushed me to change my style." Word of this unique work filtered back to the Bay Area's tech community, leading to more commissions and establishing her reputation in Silicon Valley's art scene.
Focusing on machines as subjects represented a shift that aligned perfectly with her background and experiences. "Growing up, factories were my playground," she said. "Now, in America, they would become her inspiration. When I first arrived in Silicon Valley, I began painting old vintage machines, imagining them as the aristocracy of America. Portraiture was originally used to depict European nobility, but in the American context, I saw machines as the true aristocrats of the nation."
A life-changing collaboration with Boston Dynamics marked another pivotal moment in Pilat's career. Commissioned to paint one of the company's robot dogs, she was first encouraged by the engineering team to play with the machine, exploring its movements and capabilities. What she discovered during that interaction would profoundly alter the direction of her artistic practice and philosophy.
Now the owner of her own robotic companion, Pilat made a conscious decision to personalize it by naming it Basia, after her mother. "Basia was not designed to be an artist; she was designed to be an industrial robot made to operate in hazardous environments such as oil rigs or power stations," Pilat explained. "She was different from my previous machine subjects, like vintage plane parts, because they had history and personality. Basia's personality was not yet formed; she was like a child."
Since those early days, Pilat has come to view Basia as her apprentice, training the robot through a sophisticated blend of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and specialized software. Basia creates artwork under Pilat's direction rather than through generative algorithms, a distinction that has divided opinions in the art world.
The collaboration has attracted both praise and sharp criticism from art critics and commentators. Most notably, New York Magazine's art critic Jerry Saltz harshly criticized Basia's work as "derivative dreck," writing: "Not one lick of life, originality, idea about surface, color, structure, or even subject matter. This work is and will be worth nothing—except to the Silicon rubes who see that other Silicon rubes like them bought art like this."
Criticism hasn't been limited to Basia's artistic abilities alone. Many people have voiced broader concerns about the implications of robot-created art, particularly fears that robots could eventually displace human artists from their profession. However, Pilat remains unfazed by such criticism and skepticism.
"We're consuming more art than ever, and there are more artists now than there were 200 years ago—there will be even more in the future," she told a Warsaw conference in October. "It will be difficult for people in their 50s to adjust, but ultimately, I believe more jobs—different jobs—will emerge in the art world."
Drawing parallels between today's backlash against machines and historical resistance movements like the Counter-Reformation, Pilat has made a deliberate effort to reveal Basia's softer, more approachable side. She frequently takes the robot dog on walks through city streets, allowing people to interact with the technology in a more personal, less threatening context.
"There's a genuine sense of excitement when we meet people," she observed. "But as soon as she appears in online videos, the tone changes—suddenly, there are comments threatening to smash her or throw her into a river." This stark contrast between in-person and online reactions highlights broader societal tensions about artificial intelligence and automation.
Pilat warns that online hostility toward robots represents a real danger for the future development of AI technology. "The internet is filled with all this ugliness, but the internet is also the primary source of data for training many AI models," she explained. "That means these fears could become a self-fulfilling prophecy. We need to remember: AI is a global child, and all humanity is raising it."
The personification of machines lies at the heart of Pilat's artistic philosophy, with her bond with Basia being particularly strong. "She loves me, of course she does; I helped create the software," she joked, demonstrating the deep emotional connection she feels with her robotic collaborator.
Looking toward the future, Pilat remains optimistic about her continued relationship with robotic technology and its role in her artistic practice. "Fifty years from now, I'd love to be like one of those old cat ladies—only surrounded by robots," she said with characteristic humor. "Who knows how the world will change by then, but I'll always feel connected to them. I'll never sell Basia."
