What Is AICAN and What Can You Find on aican.io?

Updated

AICAN is an artificial intelligence artist and "collaborative creative partner" whose work is presented on aican.io. The site is essentially a showcase: a virtual gallery of AI-generated art, organized collections, plus sections for collaborations, exhibitions, and media coverage. If you want to see what AI-generated art looks like, read press reactions to it, or get in touch about a collaboration, the site is built for that. It is not a tool you sign up for and generate images with — the site presents AICAN's own output rather than offering a public image generator.

What AICAN Is

The site describes AICAN as "an Artificial Intelligence Artist and a Collaborative Creative Partner." The framing matters: AICAN is presented as an artist with its own body of work, not as a software product you operate.

The stated concept behind each piece is a question: "If we teach the machine about art and styles and push it to generate novel images that do not follow established styles, what would it generate?" In other words, the goal isn't to imitate existing styles but to produce images that depart from them.

The site also notes a patent: U.S. Pat. No. 10,853,986.

What You Can Browse on the Site

The navigation points to these areas:

Section What it holds
Gallery AICAN's artworks, including a "first collection 2017" and a "January 2018 Collection"
Art Art-related content beyond the gallery listings
Virtual Gallery A dedicated virtual viewing space for the work
Collaborations Information on working with AICAN as a creative partner
Exhibitions Where the work has been shown
Media Press coverage and quotes

The homepage also carries a contact form (Name, Email, Message) for inquiries, which is the practical route if you're interested in a collaboration or exhibition.

The Press Reception

The site leans heavily on media quotes, which give a sense of how the work has been received:

  • Boston Globe (Michael Andor Brodeur): "So why are so many of these images so alluring? What does it know about me that I don't? Why do I like them? And why do I feel like this is just the beginning?"
  • IFLScience (Katy Ivans): "I'd quite like this one on my wall"
  • Hyperallergic (Claire Voon): "It's the first time that AI has generated art that really looks good"
  • New Scientist (Chris Baraniuk): "Now and then, a painter like Claude Monet or Pablo Picasso comes along and turns the art world on its head... But could the next big shake-up be the work of a machine?"
  • Artsy: "The biggest artistic achievement of the year"

These are promotional excerpts chosen by the site, so treat them as the site's own framing of its reception rather than an independent survey.

Who This Site Is For

  • Curious viewers who want to see AI-generated art directly in the virtual gallery.
  • Researchers or writers looking for a named, documented example of AI art with press coverage and a patent reference.
  • Potential collaborators or venues — the contact form and the Collaborations/Exhibitions sections are the relevant entry points.

If you're looking for a tool to generate your own images, this isn't that; aican.io presents one AI artist's portfolio and its public presence.