The Magic Robot
John Butler
23.01.2026 - 01.02.2026
Opening: Fri 23 Jan 2026 from 6 pm - 10 pm
SCREENING #1: SAT 24 Jan 2026 from 7 pm: “THE MAGIC ROBOT”(52 MIN, 2025)
SCREENING #2: SUN 25 2026 FROM 6 pm: “A COLLECTION OF JOHN BUTLER SHORTS”
SCREENING #3 SAT 31 Jan 2026 from 7 pm: “ARDA”(38 min, 2026)
SCREENING #4 Sun 01 Jan 2026 from 6 pm: “thE SOLID STATE CINEMA” & FINISSAGE FROm 4 PM
“The Magic Robot” is the first solo show of Glasgow-based digital artist John Butler in Berlin presenting a wide range of his work. “The Magic Robot”(52 min, 2025) is also the title of his new tale of technological unemployment, only this time it's the robots who are losing their jobs. Loosely based on Upton Sinclair's 'The Jungle', the Magic Robot traverses the worlds of bonded labour, industrial espionage, fine art and spirituality in his search for 'Self'. The Magic Robot is a work of Bureaucratic Science Fiction, confirming that we are living in a spreadsheet, not a simulation.
The exhibition will also feature the premiere of John Butler’s latest video “Arda”(38 min, 2026): Deep underground, the last, best men plan the redevelopment of the Earth, in line with their neo-monarchist philosophy. A work of Techno Tolkienism, it stars digitally approximated versions of Peter Thiel, Larry Ellison, Palmer Luckey, Marc Andressen and Sam Altman.
For the finissage, John Butler presents “THE SOLID STATE CINEMA”, his nomadic screening series from Glasgow in which he programs selected fellow video artists’ works.
more info coming soon!