Heir of kinetic art and cybernetic art and nourished by metaphysical science-fiction, Antoine Schmitt endlessly investigates the dynamic interactions between human nature and the nature of reality. Originally a programming engineer specialized in human computer interactions and artificial intelligence, he uses computer programming — as contemporary artistic material, unique by its active quality — at the heart of his artwork to reveal and literally manipulate the forces at stake. With a minimal and precise aesthetics, he asks the question of movement, its causes and its shapes. Antoine Schmitt has started to articulate this approach with other established artistic practices like music, dance, architecture, literature or cinema, and has thus collaborated with Franck Vigroux, Atau Tanaka, Vincent Epplay, Jean-Jacques Birgé, Delphine Doukhan, K.Danse, Patrice Belin, Don Nino, Cubenx, Alberto Sorbelli, Matthew Bourne, Hortense Gauthier... As theoretician, speaker and editor of the gratin.org portal, Antoine Schmitt explores the field of programmed art.
His work has received several awards in international festivals : transmediale (Berlin, second prize 2007, honorary 2001), Ars Electronica (Linz, second prize 2009), UNESCO International Festival of Video-Dance (Paris, first prize online 2002), Vida 5.0 (Madrid, honorary 2002), CYNETart (Dresden, honorary 2004), medi@terra (Athens, first prize 1999), Interférences (Belfort, first prize 2000), and has been exhibited among others at the Centre Georges Pompidou (Paris), at Musée des Arts Décoratifs (Paris), at Sonar (Barcelona), at Ars Electronica (Linz), at the CAC of Sienna (Italy), at the Musée d’Art Contemporain de Lyon (France), in Nuits Blanches (Paris, Amiens, Metz, Bruxelles and Madrid). It is part of the collections of the foundations Artphilein (Switzerland), Fraenkel (USA), Meeschaert (France) and Société Générale (France), of the Espace Gantner (France), of the Cube (France), of the Paris Municipal Contemporary Art Fund (FMAC), Collection Borusan (USA)...