GEN/GEN exhibition: A journey through Generative Art’s evolving landscape
A new exhibition in London’s Mayfair district, hosted by Gazelli Art House, seeks to illuminate the untold history of generative art by connecting its early pioneers with today’s digital artisans.
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Exploring timeless themes across generations
The exhibition, known as GEN/GEN: Generative Generations, emphasizes the “shared vocabulary” between past and present artists in the generative art space.
Unlike typical gallery displays that segregate works based on timelines or medium, this exhibition aims for a thematic tie-in. It blends the groundbreaking creations of generative art pioneers like Harold Cohen, Ernest Edmonds, William Latham, and Stephen Willats with contemporary pieces from artists like Tyler Hobbs, Sougwen Chung, Rhea Myers, and Ben Kovach.
In doing so, it sets the stage for a fascinating dialogue that transcends time periods, revealing the persistent threads and questions that generative art has tackled over the decades.
GEN/GEN features NFT artwork
While many of the artists featured in GEN/GEN have been active in the NFT space, the gallery also offers NFT versions of selected works via its online platform, Gazell.io. This marks a trend in the art industry as galleries adopt digital storefronts to manage the presentation and sale of both physical and digital assets. It seems that the NFT craze has not only captured the imagination of artists but also the strategies of established art houses.
Generative art challenging market slump
Despite an overall downturn in the NFT market, the generative art sector remains a beacon of resilience. According to Nansen’s Art-20 index, generative art has only seen a moderate decrease in value, outperforming other NFT categories. This resiliency, in part, led to Gazelli Art House’s confidence in hosting an exhibition solely devoted to the genre.
Art coming to life
Beyond NFTs as a “mechanism for ownership,” the GEN/GEN exhibition offers a glimpse into the future where artworks become “living entities.” Projects like Matt Kane’s “Gazers,” which incorporates real-time external data, challenge the traditional view of a canvas as a static, finished product. These living artworks signify a shift in how we interact with art, perhaps a telling precursor of what’s to come.
The exhibition is open for viewing at Mayfair’s Gazelli Art House until October 7. Whether you’re a curious onlooker, an NFT aficionado, or a generative art enthusiast, this exhibition promises an enriching experience that bridges the old and the new.
