fxGems #19 ⏀ Abstract Honorable Mentions from Dec. 2021 - Part IV
This week is all about boxes and swirls, recursive shapes and tiled patterns. It's an abstract medley of work by emerging artists everyone should keep an eye on. You should be hearing many of these name for a long time to come ;)
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 eve®ry 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.
BlockFarms by Phasu
Recursive Tiles (Interactive) by mocomatics
ｙｕｍｉ - ユミリー [1984] by eddietree
![ｙｕｍｉ - ユミリー [1984] #26](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!9IWR!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F76a48968-d05b-4232-ab7a-be21d7ec05ef_1024x1024.webp "ｙｕｍｉ - ユミリー [1984] #26")
Prospettive Astratte by 111v1ab
Knit by __orderandchaos
Attractors Bestiary by Estienne
Interpolations by b2renger
Plantes by balintkulcsar
Vortice Umbra by mandybrigwell
<iframes> by ciphrd
Memory Pool 人人人人 ﾟ.+:｡ヽ(´∀｀)ﾉﾟ.+:｡ 人人人人 by photoevaporation
Generative Patterns #5 by jotta.rs
Radio Gel by Cyril Diagne
Void Divergence by Dorian Lods
Cell by phil_osophie
ClrWreath by smtsjhr
Beauty In Chaos by Gorik
Rings by __orderandchaos
I Know by Kali
Pictvra by Ad Mortem Festinamus
Astro by andre
Bacterias by somaticbits
Fancy Patterns by flockaroo
Apophenia by Kusamehewa
Traffic Lights by God Is A Mathematician
Rainbows by André Oliveira Cebola
Postcard CMYK by ismahelio
1968 by campyoutsider
Reaction Diffusion Cellular Automata by anbello
Modulo Art - Animated Series by mono
Inaccurate Depictions: String Theory by superbialux
Boho Pattern by neigal
Polka by artplusbrad
Zürich Stations Grid III by meodai
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.