A Vancouver-based visual artist is earning international acclaim for her unique fusion of traditional painting and artificial intelligence. Maya Zheng, 31, has developed a process she calls 'machine-aided brushwork,' in which neural networks contribute texture and composition to her hand-painted canvases.
Zheng begins by inputting sketches and thematic keywords into a custom-trained AI model. The machine generates abstract visual suggestions, which she then interprets and reworks with acrylics, ink, and metallic pigments. The result is a layered collaboration between human intuition and machine logic.
Her latest exhibition, 'Electric Petals,' debuted in Tokyo and is now touring major art centers in Berlin, Los Angeles, and Toronto. Critics have praised her work as 'hauntingly organic despite its digital roots' and 'a quiet revolution in post-human expressionism.'
Zheng says the project was born from curiosity, not hype. 'I wanted to explore whether technology could be poetic—not just efficient,' she explained. 'It's not about giving the machine agency. It’s about letting it whisper in the background.'
Though some purists have questioned the legitimacy of AI-assisted art, Zheng has gained a strong following among collectors and curators interested in cross-disciplinary experimentation. Her pieces have sold for up to $25,000 and have been acquired by several tech company art collections.
With growing demand, she’s launching an artist-in-residence program at her Vancouver studio, where emerging creators can experiment with generative tools while grounding their practice in tactile, analog media. 'I’m not teaching machines to replace artists,' she says. 'I’m teaching artists to challenge themselves—with a different kind of brush.'