fxGems #20 ⏀ Abstract Honorable Mentions from Dec. 2021 - Part V
This is it — the final issue on December 2021. The biggest month in fx(hash) history called for the largest number of issues. I'm looking forward to scaling this back to a more reasonable size soon, and I hope you'll stay along for the ride.
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.
Mina by DistCollective
Chroma Ciphers by perkwerk
Electric Worms by FahmiMursyid
Fiery Glowing Dragon Scales by johnowhitaker
Noods by uhhlias
Sunspots by nudoru
Mitosis by StrangerintheQ
Brosser by Eric Andwer
Geologic by ALT+ESC
I.B. Strokin' by DevGenArt
Strata by Rich Poole
Corinth by orbitanaut
Psychic Blobs by Naibdian
A Thousand Faces by Daniel Oropeza
Complicare by nicthib
Hatching by Lucas S. Reveil
Labyrinth by Yi-Wen Lin
GuageTiles by smtsjhr
Nowhere Plans by Volatile Moods
Posizioni by whitekross
HairyField by Diego de los Campos
Triangle Subdivisions by Jos Vromans
Machine 7 by Tomluyten
Down The Well by ParseError
Seriscope Painting (1) by Ryan Thompson
De/FragV3 by toxi
Tribal Lines by byt3
Precision: Micro by Loren Bednar
Skyfloors by p4stoboy
Pure Phase by klaus
The Lace of the Universe by Artal0rd
Abstraction 02 by Chris Randall
Multiflow by somaticbits
Pollocian Fibs by Gorik
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.