Digital Art

Digital Art

Digital art is artwork created or presented using digital technology.

Digital art encompasses any form of artistic creation or practice that incorporates digital technology in the creative or presentation process. It also includes computational art that interacts with – and leverages – digital media.

The term ‘digital art’ first emerged in the early 1980s when computer engineers developed a painting program that the pioneering digital artist Harold Cohen used. This program, known as AARON, was a robotic machine designed to create large drawings on sheets of paper positioned on the floor. Over time, as technology advanced, Cohen continued to refine the AARON program, delving further into the realm of artificial intelligence.

29 results found for "Digital Art"

essay

How CryptoPunks NFTs changed the face of digital art

Created in 2017 by Matt Hall and John Watkinson, CryptoPunks were one of the first NFTs minted on the Ethereum blockchain. CryptoPunks quickly penetrated the mainstream, captivating not only crypto enthusiasts but also artists, celebrities and the general public. Today the 24x24 avatars are a divisive status symbol living up to their Punk name.

How CryptoPunks NFTs changed the face of digital art
video

Cindy Sherman

Cindy Sherman is a hallmark of 20th-century art. Since the 1970s ​​she’s taken pictures of herself as different ‘types’ of people from American culture and beyond. In this Artist’s Artist, we look at how the representation of women in popular culture shaped her history-making career.

Cindy Sherman
essay

Iskra Velitchkova – Can machines make us more human?

We rely on computers in nearly every area of our lives, including creativity. Iskra Velitchkova explores the relationship between humans and technology. With generative artworks, she uncovers the ‘second self’ that emerges when we interact with machines.

Iskra Velitchkova – Can machines make us more human?
essay

Linda Dounia – Amplifying the self

Linda Dounia is a Senegalese artist working with generative systems to create art that challenges the tech status quo. Her abstract artworks are based on extensive research into various ecologies.

Linda Dounia – Amplifying the self
essay

Emily Xie – Plastic code

Chinese-American artist Emily Xie’s coded creations replicate old world fabrics in new world media. Combining AI and generative methods, she asks what it means to be material in a digital world.

Emily Xie – Plastic code
article

Grant Yun – Growing Up

American-Korean artist Grant Yun arrives in Seoul with his first solo show. The series is minimal, intricate and personal, inspired by his identity.

Grant Yun – Growing Up
guide

How to collect art

So, you're an art lover. Either you buy art, or you'd like to – but where to channel this passion? You're in the right place. This guide covers everything you need to kickstart, develop and deepen a collection.

How to collect art
essay

Art in the Age of Femme Pleasure

As Janelle Monáe’s new album heralds the age of pleasure, femme visual artists are also imagining sexualities liberated from the male gaze.

Art in the Age of Femme Pleasure
guide

What is Generative Art?

Humans have been experimenting with generative art for centuries, but Web 3.0 technology such as NFTs and smart contracts has unlocked new possibilities. Here’s what you need to know about the movement that’s shaking up the art world.

What is Generative Art?
guide

How to unlock your Super Cool World print

We are collaborating with Nina Chanel Abney to open the opportunity to acquire a print of her Super Cool World NFT collection. On April 28th, the 48 hour printing window opens. Discover everything you need to know below.

How to unlock your Super Cool World print
essay

Are NFTs queerer than we think?

When it comes to diversity, NFTs don’t have the best rep. But the good news is that countless underground and established queer artists are embracing this relatively young art history.

Are NFTs queerer than we think?
article

A Record of Time

For Avant Arte's first curated NFT launch, collector Shahin Tabassi considers the ability of digital art to transport us through time.

A Record of Time
interview

In conversation: Tyler Hobbs

"Can I write a program that creates a painting?"

In conversation: Tyler Hobbs
video

In conversation: Dmitri Cherniak at LACMA

After the acquisition of Ringers #962 into LACMA's collection, Generative artist Dmitri Cherniak and LACMA Curator Dhyandra Lawson discuss the artistry of systems, curating randomness, and the origins of Ringers.

In conversation: Dmitri Cherniak at LACMA
Artist

Beeple

Mike Winkelmann was born in 1981 in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Today, he works from his home in Charleston, South Carolina, where he lives with his wife and two children. His parents and brother also live nearby.

Beeple
Artist

DeeKay

DeeKay (he/him) is the artist name of DeeKay Kwon who was born in 1989, South Korea, and now lives and works in San Francisco, United States.

DeeKay
Artist

CryptoPunks

The CryptoPunks were released on June 23, 2017 by Larva Labs, founded by John Watkinson and Matt Hall. On March 11, 2022 they were incorporated into Yuga Labs.

CryptoPunks
Artist

Jake Fried

Jake Fried (he/him) is an American artist born in 1984. Today, he lives and works in Boston.

Jake Fried
Artist

Luis Ponce

Luis Ponce (he/him) was born in Mexico and now lives and works in Montreal, Canada.

Luis Ponce
Artist

Tyler Hobbs

Tyler Hobbs was born in 1987 in Austin, Texas, where he currently lives and works.

Tyler Hobbs
Artist

Six N. Five

Six N. Five is the studio of Ezequiel Pini’s work, an award-winning Argentinian designer and digital artist based in Barcelona.

Six N. Five
Print

Love Ripples

A small act of kindness spreads amongst a mirrored community in Love Ripples.Digital artist Deekay’s plethora of nostalgic characters find themselves in the physical realm for the first time in a mirrored print edition. A warm glow emanates from a central source of love, creating a domino effect of positive energy, rippling throughout the group. Embodying his artistic ambitions to spread joy across the world, the mirror allows anyone who engages with the artwork to look inwards and reflect on their own loving community.“I intended for people to see themselves when observing the characters and recognize their own capacity to both give and receive love.”

Love Ripples
Print

Sierra

Sierra carves a lone mountain from chance and serendipity.From thousands of generative outputs, Matt DesLauriers was struck by an artwork that broke the confines of his algorithm. Like a mountain reaching out from the landscape below, his code had arranged colours to cast an ‘alpenglow’. This optical phenomenon occurs when the sun dips below the horizon, bathing mountain peaks in a fiery glow.The dialogue of colour theory was pivotal in transforming the digital artwork into a print. The palette of DesLauriers’ algorithm, while striking in digital form, presented challenges for silkscreen printing. This led to a careful unravelling of the original RGB palette into CMYK components. 15 layers of ink flood a creamy off-white background, creating a textured depth reminiscent of a woodcut print. Finally, a layer of fluorescent ink is applied to the red and yellow areas, capturing the warm iridescent sheen of alpenglow.

Sierra
Artist

James Jean

James Jean was born in 1979 in Taipei, Taiwan, and moved to New Jersey, USA with his family at a young age. He now lives and works in Los Angeles.

James Jean
Print

Open Eyes (Flower)

Animations by Jake Fried find physical form in an edition of monochromatic lenticulars.Traversing digital and physical art, Open Eyes (Flower) transforms the illusory subjects and movements of Fried’s NFTs into an ever-shifting lenticular. The artist’s animations require painstaking repetition – drawn one layer at a time, by hand, before being scanned and combined into digital artworks. Eight individual frames have been used as the basis for the intricate three-part lenticular.Each print is paired with an NFT of the same artwork. Claiming instructions will be shared with collectors after launch.

Open Eyes (Flower)
Print

Super Cool World print

Nina Chanel Abney brings her NFT universe, Super Cool World, into the physical realm with a 48 hour printing window.It is vital to Abney that everybody can feel represented in her body of work. Super Cool World spans 5080 unique digital artworks created with collage and vector methods, riffing on the strong graphic motifs which characterise her paintings.For 48 hours only, NFT holders will have the opportunity order unique prints based on the NFTs they own. The reverse of each print is finished with a bespoke stamp and the title of its corresponding NFT. The two artworks are tethered together by a QR code."All Super Cool World holders will have the unique opportunity to live with my work outside the NFT that's in their wallet, with the chance to acquire something tactile and carefully created."The metadata for printed artworks will also be updated after launch with a new ‘signed’ property, and Nina’s signature will be added to the NFT as a permanent record of its leap from digital to physical.Please refer to the registry to view which of the 5080 NFTs have already been printed. Each NFT can be printed just once, making every print unique.For more information on how to unlock your print, read our journal page.

Super Cool World print
Sculpture

TOUCHED//

With his first edition of sculptures, Fvckrender finds physical form for an abstract self.Canadian artist Fvckrender combines a surreal, symbol-laden mode of autobiography and a fascination with the behaviour of light to create hyperreal digital artworks. Fittingly, TOUCHED// envelops the composition of SELF_HELP// – an earlier NFT work which documented the artist tackling a personal crisis with methodical perseverance – in a glistening chameleon finish. A trio of outstretched hands impart a soothing influence on the face they reach towards.“Art is a way to clear my mind. It's a way to celebrate the wins and leave behind the losses.”

After launch, collectors of TOUCHED// will be invited to claim a corresponding NFT.

TOUCHED//
Sculpture

FEEL//

With his first edition of sculptures, Fvckrender finds physical form for an abstract self.Canadian artist Fvckrender combines a surreal, symbol-laden mode of autobiography and a fascination with the behaviour of light to create hyperreal digital artworks. Fittingly, FEEL// envelops the composition of SELF_HELP// – an earlier NFT work which documented the artist tackling a personal crisis with methodical perseverance – in a lustrous opal finish. A trio of outstretched hands impart a soothing influence on the face they reach towards.“Art is a way to clear my mind. It's a way to celebrate the wins and leave behind the losses.”

FEEL//

Other words in the glossary


Building your collection? We can help.


Your questions, answered

Parra's studio, with Parra at the centre, his back to the camera as he works on the large painting takes centre stage, showing a faceless blue woman in a striped dress, painted in red, purple, blue and teal. The studio is full of brightly coloured paints, with a large window on the right and a patterned rug across the floor under the painting.
Choose your location