Happy Birthday to Kjetil Golid!
Celebrating the birthday of artist Kjetil Golid, we take a closer look at his remarkable career in generative art. Hailing from Norway, Kjetil explores algorithms and data structures through captivating visualizations. His projects fuse aesthetic visuals with original algorithms, resulting in mesmerizing and unpredictable outcomes. Kjetil advocates for creative expression through programming, openly sharing his code and even developing user-friendly tools for non-coders to create interactive visuals.
Kjetil Golid, Complex 02, owned by @chomper.eth
One notable exhibition of Kjetil's work took place at Kate Vass Galerie in 2020, featuring him in the "Game of Life - Emergence in Generative Art" exhibition. This show served as a tribute to the late mathematician John Horton Conway, renowned for his influential "Game of Life" concept. His process results in bold works with basket weave-like patterns that resemble graphic pixelated flags or banners. These pieces recall computing origins in the Jacquard loom, a device that employed punch cards to simplify the intricate weaving process of 18th-century textiles. We believe this exhibition marked a turning point in Kjetil's career, subsequently leading to his feature in the New York Times.
Kjetil's artistic journey reached new heights with his “Archetype” drop at Artblocks in 2021. The selected “Archetypes” were showcased at the ZKM Cube as part of the exhibition "CryptoArt It’s Not About Money," alongside other prominent NFT artworks like CryptoPunks and Cryptokitties. “Archetype” explores the use of repetition as a counterweight to unruly, random structures. As every single component looks chaotic alone, the repetition brings along a sense of intentionality, ultimately resulting in a complex, yet satisfying expression.
Kjetil's "Iterations" series made its debut at the Phygital show in April 2022 at Kate Vass Galerie. The series explores the interplay between structure and chaos, creating a visual impression of a structure by repeating random layouts of blocks. However, the process intentionally introduces imperfections and mutations to reintroduce an element of chaos. This was the first time when Kjetil accompanied his digital work with unique 1/1 signed fine art prints 120x120cm.
Among his notable works is "Curvescape VII – Outpost" which adds architectural elements to a previously barren landscape. The scale and nature of these structures remain enigmatic, blending the aesthetics of a free-spirited pencil with the precision of computer-generated imagery.
Later at the end of 2022, the beginning of 2023 - Kjetil's "10 EXPANSE" series made a grand entrance during the New Year's Eve auctions. Minted on his own smart contract, the series divides the plane into a grid and transforms each grid cell into cuboids of varying dimensions. The coloration of each cuboid's face is determined by its slant relative to a light source, translating geometric relationships into numerical values mapped to specific locations in the color space.
Through his inventive and boundary-pushing artworks, Kjetil Golid continues to captivate audiences with his exploration of algorithms, generative art, and the fascinating interplay between structure and chaos.
To read more about the artist and see the full portfolio of his works HERE.
