Dmitri Cherniak

One question is at the heart of Dmitri Cherniak's practice – what are the possibilities of automated art? Using algorithms, he crafts intricate abstract artworks that vary in mood and design. He takes the technology of our age (which we associate with social media companies and targeted ads) and turns it into all kinds of beauty. The layered, hazy textures in Light Years are subtle and captivating, tender but firm. They emanate a deep existential feeling we don't expect to see from a computer. Ringers, one of Cherniak's most famous collections, is at the other end of the spectrum. Its crisp, graphic compositions were generated by a code inspired by The Graphic Design Manual, a 1960s book by Swiss designer Armin Hofmann.

Today, Cherniak is a leading figure in generative art and creative coding. But to get there, he had to face society's idea that technology isn't creative. Growing up, Cherniak excelled at STEM subjects and he also loved to draw. But school and society made it seem like you could only do one or the other – not both. Eventually, his academic talents led him to a decade-long career as an engineer. In these years, he developed and refined the coding skills and techniques he still uses in his art today. And the results speak for themselves. Moving, hypnotic, unusual. In everything Cherniak creates, he defies expectations of what an algorithm can do.