fxGems #11 ⏀ Top 117 Best Abstract Projects from Dec. 2021 - Part II
Continuing our historical deep dive: In a surprising twist, over two-thirds of these projects are animated, and yet almost all of them minted out. Maybe the old adage about animated art not selling as well as static art doesn't hold water?
fxGems is curated by Haiver. Follow on Twitter and Mastodon for recommendations, and sign up for email notifications for when a new issue drops. To support the work, collect a copy of this issue on fx(text) or past issues, or consider minting one of my generative pieces on fx(hash).
Minimal or maximalist, gestural or clinical, conceptual or emotionally ekphrastic — abstract art is a large umbrella to describe a wide variety of work. It can give voice to the maelstrom or bring order to chaos, leave you cold or get under your skin.
This four part series of issues exploring abstract work from December 2021 is my favorite list yet, full of instant classics destined for museum walls. From William Mapan’s Dragons to makio135’s Shattered Moons and Lisa Orth’s Angular Variations (Holding Space), these are projects that will resound far beyond their digital renown.
It was a joy to find ways to put these pieces side by side in the same issue and watch a new resonance materialize from thin air. There’s a latent power in juxtaposition; a magic not yet manifest until you place the works on a wall together — it’s why I love curating so much.
I hope you find some work you love too!
It's important to note that fxGems is not a ranked list. One part of good curation is putting pieces in conversation with one another, so each numbered mint featured here has been carefully selected, then ordered into groups of twos and threes to create a dialogue between the different projects. There are juxtapositions and echoes, recurring themes and visual motifs. A thread has been woven throughout. How it draws you from one project to the next is up to you to find.
As always, this issue is available to view on fx(text), especially good for those animated pieces. And if you're looking for more recommendations, check out the representational Best of Lists, the four part abstract Best of List, and the multiple issues gathering all of the many Honorable Mentions, covering December 2021.
Wondering by Yi-Wen Lin
Spiroculae by Hyenta
Protein Pelt by Chris McCully
Comstractions by Volatile Moods
Flowers by 0xm4_0
Pulsar by George Savva
Illuyanka by DistCollective
Hesitance by Krankarta
Curl Culture by Aranya
Waterfall Poems by Daniel Oropeza
De/FragV2 by toxi
The Persistence of Order by Camille Roux
Dancing Dots by Estienne
[ranges] by Itayniv
![[ranges] #252](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F57990ca0-f7d6-4fdf-86c5-45ecb274f1c6_1024x1024.webp "[ranges] #252")
Meander River Plot v2 by nudoru
Intersection 2 by Chris Randall
Direzioni by whitekross
Smoke Trails by rje99
The Grid by cbrpnk
Perpetual Motion Squared by Juhani Halkomäki
Dalmatian Factory by mandybrigwell
b.1 by Pablo Alpe
Candy Eights 2D by Numerus_Artifex
Around by Johan Holwerda
Slide by punevyr
Polyvalence by Alex Grasser
Making Mole Hills by adamferriss
Mosaic by Sam Tsao
beat_voxels.v001g ft. Kuámasi by gianko
fxGems is not affiliated with fx(hash) or fx(text) (hence the lack of parentheses), and none of the recommendations herein should be construed as financial advice. We’re here to celebrate the art!
Each month I go one by one through all of the projects that dropped on fx(hash) to find the strongest, most compelling work — generative art that has a unique voice, a wide variety across its many mints, and an intriguing approach to algorithms and technique.