Gradient Canvas

What is a Gradient Canvas?

Gradient Canvas is an augmented reality (AR) community art project that blurs the boundaries between the physical and digital worlds through collective creativity. In the physical space, the artwork presents an empty canvas with the inscription: “This is not a painting” — a playful homage to René Magritte’s famous work “The Treachery of Images” (“Ceci n’est pas une pipe”). However, in the digital realm, the canvas is alive and ever-evolving, shaped continuously by the creative input of interacting users.

By scanning a QR code displayed beside the physical frame, viewers unlock an AR experience where the current digital canvas overlays seamlessly onto the empty frame. Users can explore a historical timeline of all previous canvases, witnessing the project’s evolution, or engage directly with the canvas. Those who choose to interact are invited to select a region of the canvas to modify. Through a simple text prompt, users guide a diffusion model to generate and inpaint new content within their chosen area. This interaction allows the canvas to organically transform over time, reflecting the collective imagination of its participants.

Inspiration and Vision

Gradient Canvas draws inspiration from Reddit Place, reimagining its collaborative spirit through the lens of advanced generative AI and augmented reality. It invites participants to engage in a playful yet profound dialogue between technology and creativity, fostering a shared digital tapestry that evolves with every interaction.

By blending collective artistry with cutting-edge computer vision, Gradient Canvas explores how digital and physical realities intertwine, offering a living artwork that is never static—always becoming.

Presented at CVPR 2025 AI Art exhibition, Nashville, USA. Click here for the online gallery. Exhibition curator: Luba Elliot.