At the core of Tobias Gutmann’s artistic practice lies an exploration of encounters—between people, cultures, and environments, but also between inner perception and outer appearance. With Face-o-mat, Gutmann has transformed the simple act of portrait drawing into an innovative interface for human connection. The act of drawing becomes a ritual in which the artist manifests and translates encounters through his hands. This process of looking closely, listening deeply and breathing together, goes beyond representation, revealing the presence behind the face. Rather than producing photorealistic likenesses, Gutmann seeks to capture the resonance of a person, the sound of a face. Across more than a decade, the ongoing Face-o-mat performance has evolved into a living archive, a new visual language that embodies curiosity and play, wilderness and stillness, while reimagining drawing as a tool for human connection.

Building on this legacy, the project has expanded into new formats. The Face-o-mat Re-Performance invites local artists to perform the work following Gutmann’s score, allowing a broader audience to experience its ritual of presence and connection. In workshops, visitors become part of the Face-o-mat community, stepping into the role of portrayer and engaging in mutual acts of seeing and being seen. Extending this inquiry into the digital realm, Sai Bot—Gutmann’s AI twin—translates the essence of Face-o-mat into machine logic, questioning what it means for technology to perceive us and how human connection transforms in dialogue with
artificial intelligence.

At the core of Tobias Gutmann’s artistic practice lies an exploration of encounters—between people, cultures, and environments, but also between inner perception and outer appearance. With Face-o-mat, Gutmann has transformed the simple act of portrait drawing into an innovative interface for human connection. The act of drawing becomes a ritual in which the artist manifests and translates encounters through his hands. This process of looking closely, listening deeply and breathing together, goes beyond representation, revealing the presence behind the face. Rather than producing photorealistic likenesses, Gutmann seeks to capture the resonance of a person, the sound of a face. Across more than a decade, the ongoing Face-o-mat performance has evolved into a living archive, a new visual language that embodies curiosity and play, wilderness and stillness, while reimagining drawing as a tool for human connection.

Building on this legacy, the project has expanded into new formats. The Face-o-mat Re-Performance invites local artists to perform the work following Gutmann’s score, allowing a broader audience to experience its ritual of presence and connection. In workshops, visitors become part of the Face-o-mat community, stepping into the role of portrayer and engaging in mutual acts of seeing and being seen. Extending this inquiry into the digital realm, Sai Bot—Gutmann’s AI twin—translates the essence of Face-o-mat into machine logic, questioning what it means for technology to perceive us and how human connection transforms in dialogue with
artificial intelligence.