fxGems #14 ⏀ Representational Honorable Mentions from Dec. 2021 - Part I
Filled with eccentric, odd ducks, this mix of still lifes, landscapes, PFPs, poetry, and even one game is an offbeat, delightful, funny, and surreal batch of representational art ripe for rediscovery.
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).
With 3622 projects released in December 2021, it's impossible for every good generative art project to fit in the fxGems Best of Lists for abstract and representational art, so the Honorable Mentions was born. And there are many possible reasons a project ended up in the Honorable Mentions instead of on a Best of List. There wasn't enough variety across the minted pieces, or some of the layouts were strong but other mints could have used more self-awareness between their parts. The piece was well executed but lacked originality, or the piece was original but lacked execution. Or there were a limited number of color palettes when the project would have really shone with a few more.
Or perhaps the artist still has room to grow, but we should start rooting for them now. The algorithm needed to be pushed further, techniques stacked together, or the process used made less obvious (I'm looking at you flow fields). Or they're using a library with such a distinctive look, like Hydra, that the project struggles to stand out from the crowd. And then there are the artists who had a stronger piece make the fxGems Best of List this month and we're trying to spread the love around instead of having the same few names appear repeatedly at the top (but don't want you to miss a very fun piece either!).
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.
Lil Rocket by Barter
Ball_of_Chsoa by dcRay
Lost Symbol by GasparianTed
Pixelbots by P1x3lboy
Zpritez 3D by KilledByAPixel
Cup by innadakota
3D-Smolskull by markknol & Reinder Nijhoff
Imaginary Striped Animals by nevidano
The Gazer by Diego de los Campos
Metaballs by Reinder Nijhoff
Dithered Branches by KilledByAPixel
Some Generative Winter Trees by yuuretsu
0.20 Carat by sableraph
Have Your Cake & Eat It Too by vuisnotabot
Minimal Snow Landscape by 0xm4_0
Two Specimen by Orr Kislev
Glitched Mountains GT by Simone Pompei
Play-Ball by Zenobyl
TERROR 404 ➋ by Shinzo Noda
Obscure Cameras by Orr Kislev
Anaglyphic - Moka by Anaglyphic
Window View by 0xHab
Crowds by cino
Kittens In Balaclavas by wasntmeow
Slot Machine by TandY
Deleptrols Feel, To Return To Normal by KVART
Punk Haiku by Shinzo Noda
Pharmacist Nightmare by Estienne
Alley by Jinyao Lin
Sumi-E Mountains & Bamboo by Bewelge
Podz by petStarChippy
MEGA Capybara Collection by wasntmeow
Kitty Colle by Kitty Creator
Weaving Spiders by danieljulia
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.