Rafaël Rozendaal
Rafaël Rozendaal is one of the best-known artists in the digital art world. Having made websites-as-art-objects since 2001, his work takes shape through a range of transformations – from movement into abstraction, from virtual into physical space, and from website to print – with all of them informing each other. Rozendaal develops his ideas from drawings and sketches, then translated and distributed through programming and coding. In his latest NFT projects, Rozendaal combines visual motifs and themes from recent art history with current forms of communication and developments in blockchain to create vibrant, ever changing dynamic artworks that speak to the broad context of contemporary abstract art.
Rio
Rio is a series of responsive animated works filled with vibrant, rainbow-sherbet colored gradient fields. An ever-expanding sun hangs on an empty horizon, calling to mind the rich and colorful dynamics of Brazil.
Polychrome Music (created with Danny Wolfers/Legowelt)
Polychrome Music is an audio-visual collaboration between Rozendaal and the musician and DJ, Danny Wolfers (known as Legowelt). The series features a generative music system with three synthesizers, each producing an infinite composition through randomly selected patterns from a pool of 180. These patterns, written in the C# Dorian scale, create harmoniously fitting musical timbres reminiscent of early computer sound chips, complementing Rozendaal’s colorful visual work.
Twist
Twist is thought of by Rozendaal as a series of moving paintings. Colors move through spirals, pushing each other, pulling each other, and endlessly claiming space.
Clash
Clash is a responsive series featuring animations of colorful dots bouncing off each other against a plain, colored background. Resembling the dynamics of a billiards table in both color and movement, the action is consistently started by the white dot (or cue ball). Unlike a traditional billiards game, however, there are no pockets in this digital realm, and the dots engage in an endless clash within the screen’s boundaries.
Warp
Warp is a generative series characterized by its bold, electric set of colors and dynamic, pulsing movement. Resembling overlapping picture frames or dead-end tunnels, each work assembles itself to fit within and fill the constraints of the display dimensions, giving each piece a permeability at odds with its structured appearance.