Organic Algorithm Series

Jeffrey Ventrella

"Inner World" - full print size 40x40 inches (300 dpi), limited edition, Lori Austin Gallery

This is a series of high-resolution art prints. The images are grown from a specially-crafted algorithm I designed over the span of a year for the purpose of generating organic forms. They express the complexity of biological growth. Imperfection - wabi sabi - is woven into the algorithm to tenerate variety, from which I then choose among hundreds.

My process is iterative and evolutionary. The visual vocabulary is gradually refined along with the code. And the code is an aspect of the art as much as the resulting images. Although you cannot see the code, I want you to see the remnants of code in action. I like to imagine this process being similar to the way natural selection continually adapts genetic information (code) in the context of a complexifying ecosystem - an aesthetic ecological niche. I am a devout student of Darwinian Evolution. I incorporate the biological law of natual selection in my art-making process.

Lori Austin Gallery, The Barlow, Sebastopol, CA

Organic Algorithm Series

These artworks were generated entirely using code that I wrote myself from scratch. After spending my formative years painting and drawing, I turned to writing software as a medium to express visual ideas in algorithmic form. My techniques have been under development for over 25 years, and they are still evolving. As a young boy, I could often be found in the woods, exploring tiny forms of life on the ground, or catching the view from any tree I could climb. I consistently failed math in school, including in college. But then I discovered the algorithmic beauty of nature through code, which I consider as poetry in motion. This became the ideal tool for my internal vision and creative process. When people ask me how long it takes to make one of these images, my reply is: it depends: when I run the code, an image can take a few minutes or at most an hour to reach a point where I am satisfied with the level of detail. But the underlying software is really what represents the time spent on this work. It has been developed, worked-over, and refined over many years. An algorithm is a mental process. It is stored intuitively and multi-dimensionally in human memory. And it is stored precisely and one-dimensionally in computer memory. The result of these algorithms - coming into formation together - can be a sensual object. These images are printed on archival paper, canvas, and metal, and optionally mounted, and framed behind glass. Each piece is signed. For selected works, limited edition is insured by permanently deleting the parameters and image files after printing. Larger works are in development. Being based on fractal geometry, these images can be rendered at arbitrarily high resolutions. The ultimate goal is to have a body of work that creates a bold experience when stepping back and seeing it on a large wall, and an intimate experience when looking from a distance of only a few inches.

O'Hanlon Center for the Arts, Mill Valley, California

book cover for a book of poetry by Joan Baranow (Wolf Ridge Press)

#21 (metal print)

Artwork available as prints of any size up to 60 x 60 inches, on archival paper, canvas, or metal. Mounting and framing optional. For inquiries, contact the Lori Austin Gallery: https://www.loriaustingallery.com/