Bernar Venet Explores Generative Art with Sotheby's Metaverse Debut
Zach Anderson Feb 18, 2024 13:11
French artist Bernar Venet collaborates with Sotheby's Metaverse on "EVENT," his first generative artwork on Ethereum blockchain, challenging traditional artistic creation with 500 unique pieces.
French artist Bernar Venet, renowned for his integration of mathematics, geometry, and chance in art, has unveiled his latest venture into the realm of digital creativity with his first generative artwork, "EVENT," hosted on the Ethereum blockchain through Sotheby's Metaverse. This collaboration marks a significant milestone in Venet's illustrious career, which spans over five decades of challenging and redefining artistic boundaries. "EVENT" emerges as the second release in Sotheby's Gen Art program, showcasing Venet's pioneering approach to generative digital art.
Venet's artistic journey began in 1963 with "Tas de charbon" (Pile of Coal), signifying his early engagement with materials and the role of chance in composition. His subsequent work has continuously blurred the lines between order and chaos, employing mathematical equations, geometric shapes, and the unpredictable outcomes of physical actions, such as the accidental arrangement of steel bars in his "Accident" series started in 1996. These explorations have laid the groundwork for Venet's venture into digital art, where algorithms serve as the new medium for creativity.
"EVENT," a clever anagram of Venet's name, draws inspiration from Marcel Duchamp's playful linguistics, reflecting Venet's ambition to "dematerialize" art. This series represents a fusion of Venet's sculptural language with digital technology, creating a space where gravity, light, shadow, and materiality are reimagined through the lens of generative algorithms. In collaboration with curator Viola Lukács, Venet aims to produce 500 unique digital artworks, each embodying the essence of his physical sculptures but enriched with digital possibilities, including color, a departure from his traditional palette.
Venet's embrace of generative art is not merely an extension of his existing practice but a manifestation of his belief in constant innovation and the rejection of stylistic repetition. He views digital technology as a tool for unveiling new forms of expression, pushing beyond the confines of traditional media to explore uncharted territories of artistic creation.
"EVENT" is not just a digital counterpart to Venet's physical works; it's an exploration into the potential of digital environments to create art that resonates with the tactile and visual qualities of his sculptures while venturing into new aesthetic dimensions. This initiative by Venet and Sotheby's Metaverse not only enriches the digital art landscape but also reaffirms the enduring relevance and adaptability of established artists in the digital age.
As Venet continues to challenge the boundaries between different forms of artistic expression, his work with generative art stands as a testament to the evolving nature of creativity, bridging the gap between the physical and digital worlds. Through "EVENT," Venet invites viewers to witness the convergence of past and future, order and chaos, in a digital realm that expands the possibilities of what art can be.
French artist Bernar Venet collaborates with Sotheby's Metaverse on "EVENT," his debut generative artwork on the Ethereum blockchain. This project reflects Venet's long-standing fascination with the interplay of mathematics, geometry, and randomness, now explored through digital algorithms. "EVENT" signifies a bold step into digital art, aiming to produce 500 unique pieces that merge Venet's sculptural concepts with digital aesthetics, challenging traditional notions of artistic creation.
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