Artists have always looked to the sky for meaning. From Van Gogh’s Starry Night to Méliès’ A Trip to the Moon, and the star-swept pages of Le Petit Prince, the heavens have long been a canvas for memory, mystery, and metaphor. In art, the sun often symbolizes vitality and revelation; the moon, emotion, illusion, and the unseen; the stars, longing, destiny, and the vast unknown.

The sky in visual art often feels less like a setting and more like a mirror—one that reflects emotion. Van Gogh’s swirling night isn’t really about stars—it’s about restlessness and wonder. Olafur Eliasson’s Weather Project brought the sun indoors, transforming a museum into a glowing, mirrored space of reflection—both literal and psychological. Munch’s Sun blazes with something sacred. Matisse’s Icarus floats in endless blue, pierced by stars. Not just falling, but reaching—too far, perhaps.

And the moon—on the other hand—feels colder, more distant. A symbol of tides and madness, of veiled truths and nocturnal spells. It is not a light, but an enchantment. A pale eye watching from the dark. A mirror not of who we are—but of what we fear, or desire most.

I’ve chosen six different artists who often depict the sky in their AI art—each using generative tools to express something timeless, emotional, and celestial in distinctly personal ways.

-Synne Kristine

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