NM 94 | Simon Denny on defense tech’s aesthetic turn (2026)

Artist Simon Denny returns to New Models to discuss the American defense tech sector's newfound dedication to style. Distilling the branding languages of companies like a16z, Palantir, and Anduril—which draw heavily on Italian Futurism, return-to-order neoclassicism, and the graphic idiom of modernist institutions—Denny shows techno-libertarian leaders to be positioning themselves as a progressive counter-elite, priming the public to receive its revanchist turn toward war as natural, just, and inevitable.“Why is Andreessen reaching for art and culture in general? He doesn't have to reach for culture... What is useful for him in reaching back towards Futurism…?"This conversation builds on “Epic Fury: the Dark Art of Defense Tech” Simon’s feature for the May 2026 issue of Artforum; as well as his installation “Monsters Between Worlds” with Venkatesh Rao, which is on view in Venice as part of Palazzo Diedo’s “Strange Rules” exhibition (through Nov. 21); and “Rules Based Order” in Munich, his solo show at Gallery Kraupa-Tuskany-Ziedler.