May 3, 2023 821 PM
MARFA — Glitch Gallery, a local “analog space” dedicated to showcasing “digital art objects,” which opened in November of 2022, will hold two new exhibitions during the weekend of the Marfa Invitational.
Located at 108 East El Paso Street, the space will be open from May 4-7 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. On view will be An Invitation to Generative Art as well as a new series titled Every 30 Days.
An Invitation to Generative Art invites guests to learn more about the prominent generative artists Tyler Hobbs, Emily Xie and Matt DesLauriers. The works on display, from Art Blocks founder Erik Calderon’s personal collection, invite the viewer to explore the richness and variety of the new medium of on-chain generative art.
“Fidenza” by Hobbs exemplifies the variety of what the artist himself dubs “longform” generative art. The project’s 1,000 works demonstrate the versatility that a single “flow field“ algorithm is capable of in terms of scale, organization, texture and color combination. As Hobbs notes, in a successful algorithm, every work will “have something new about it, a little surprise that teaches you more about what is possible.”
“Memories of Qilin” by Xie showcases the potential of algorithms to unite visual elements from diverse traditions towards a novel constellation. Drawing from classical Chinese brushwork and ukiyo-e woodblock prints, Xie’s work evokes mythological imagery and explores the fluidity of movement inherent in traditional East Asian art –– as well as generative art’s capacity to emulate analogue media.
DesLauriers’ “Meridians” explores the concept of generative space, constructing stratified landforms through small, meticulously placed strokes of color. By positioning each token as a coordinate within a multidimensional generative space, “Meridians” emphasizes the vast array of aesthetic forms that can emerge from a set of elementary rules. As a result of their affinity with natural structures, the compositions appear to inhabit a space between abstraction and figuration.
Also on view will be Every 30 Days, or E30D, the first in a series of month-long exhibitions featuring a single, culturally significant, digital artwork — on view in the window of the gallery in Marfa, Texas, and simultaneously over a digital livestream. Throughout the month of May, “Right-click and Save As guy” by artist XCOPY will be on display as well.
Like few other works, “Right-click and Save As guy” captures an antiquated prejudice against digital art objects — computer files anyone can “own” by saving them with a mouse click. The work represented a shift toward what the world deemed previously impossible — the ability to imbue a digital object with scarcity.
Each artist, work, and collector is carefully selected by the Glitch team of curators. Accompanying each E30D exhibition is a longform essay, and a digital poster that references the essay, artist, object, and collector. There will only be a maximum of 1,000 digital posters available for purchase during each exhibition.
For more information, visit glitchmarfa.com
