john gerrard

john gerrard is a pivotal figure in the development of simulation within contemporary art. The artist’s works are real-time digital simulations built with game-engine technology, occupying an uncanny territory between documentary precision and technological mediation. Neither film nor video, the works are autonomous virtual worlds that unfold according to their own internal logic, some synchronised to actual solar and atmospheric conditions, others driven by algorithmic choreography, others reconstructing historical moments within contemporary landscapes.

For more than two decades, gerrard's practice has examined the hidden architectures of contemporary power: the industrial structures, energy networks, and algorithmic systems that underpin modern existence yet remain largely invisible to those who depend on them. From the factory farms of Oklahoma to the data centres of middle America, from the solar thermal plants of the Nevada desert to the oil fields of Spindletop, Texas, gerrard renders visible the material substrates of a networked world.

Work is held in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Tate, London; Centre Pompidou, Paris; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; the Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven; and other major institutions. Multiple works are held in LACMA's permanent collection including washington.stream, Solar Reserve (Tonopah, Nevada), and World Flag. gerrard was recipient of the Art + Technology Lab Grant at LACMA in 2017, producing Neural Exchange, an early exploration of art, performance and AI neural networks.

Major presentations include Channel 4's Earth Day broadcast, 2017; Somerset House, London, 2017; Desert X (Palm Springs), 2019; the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, at COP25, 2019; Okayama Art Summit, Japan, curated by Pierre Huyghe; Dark Mofo, Tasmania, 2023; the Hayward Gallery, London, 2023; U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere, Las Vegas, 2023; and the Folkestone Triennial, 2025. A current commission, SPIRITS, unfolds across LACMA from December 2025 through December 2026.