What separates man from machine? How are the two artistically related, and when they are inevitably brought closer by technological progress, what will the result be? My work explores these questions.
I want to find new ways to deeply merge the hand with the algorithm, to make the logical and illogical processes interact. The generative analysis of drawings reveals that even the “human” flaws in our work have patterns and structure.
What can the machine capture and reproduce about those flaws, and what differences will always remain? Can the cold, rigid defaults of programmed systems truly merge with our analog mess? I try to see, visually, what the answer is.
Tyler Hobbs is a visual artist from Austin, Texas who works primarily with algorithms, plotters, and paint.
His artwork focuses on computational aesthetics, how they are shaped by the biases of modern computer hardware and software, and how they relate to and interact with the natural world around us. Tyler develops and programs custom algorithms that are used to generate visual imagery. Often, these strike a balance between the cold, hard structure that computers excel at, and the messy, organic chaos we can observe in the natural world around us.
Hobbs’ work has been exhibited internationally, with recent solo exhibitions at Unit in London and Pace Gallery in New York City. His algorithmic art is among the most sought-after by digital art collectors and has been included in numerous auctions by leading auction houses such as Christie’s, Phillips, and Sotheby’s. Notable public institutions holding his work include the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
Group Exhibitions
- 2024Past vs. Present - laCollection, Paris Photo 2024, curated by Marlene Corbun, Paris, France
- 2024Code & Canvas: Defining Digital Art in the Age of Blockchain - Museum of Art and Light (MoA+L), Manhattan, Kansas, USA
- 2024Right Click: Remix - Story House, Korea Blockchain Week, Seoul, Korea
- 2024Lunar Water - K11 Art Foundation, Seoul, Korea
- 2024Remembrance of Things Future - LACMA and Cactoid Labs, Online
- 2024Every 30 Days - Glitch Gallery, Marfa, Texas, USA
- 2023INTERREALITY - Bitforms Gallery and PR for Artists, curated by Mieke Marple, Los Angeles, California, USA
- 2023TEN - UNIT, London, United Kingdom
- 2023GEN/GEN: Generative Generations - Gazelli Art House, London, United Kingdom
- 2023NFT Now - The Gateway, Seoul, Korea
- 2023Notes From the Ether: From NFTs to AI - ArtScience Museum, Singapore
- 2023Grails: Property from an Iconic Digital Art Collection - Sotheby's, New York, New York, USA
- 2023Proof of Concept - Co-Museum, Singapore Art Week, Singapore
- 2022Art Miami - Vertu Fine Art, Miami, Florida, USA
- 2022NFT Now - The Gateway, Miami, Florida, USA
- 2022UNIT Take-Over - Nassima Landau Foundation, Tel Aviv, Israel
- 2022Disruption - W1 Curates, London, United Kingdom
- 2022DYOR - Kunsthalle Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
- 2022In Our Code - UNIT & AOI, London, United Kingdom
- 2022Natively Ditial 1.3: Generative Art - Sotheby’s, Online
- 2022Grails - PROOF Collective, Online
- 2022Art Dubai - UNIT booth, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- 2022This is Tomorrow: Part I - Verse, Online
- 2022Art Blocks x Samsung Private Event - NFT.NYC, New York, New York, USA
- 2022Diversity of NFTs Art Showcase - NFT.NYC, New York, New York, USA
- 2022Immutable - Gen.Art Residency at Vellum LA, Los Angeles, California, USA
- 2022Ex-Machina: A History of Generative Art - Phillips, London, United Kingdom
- 2022Seattle Art Fair - Seattle NFT Museum Booth, Seattle, Oregon, USA
- 2021-GRAPH - Feral File, curated by Casey Reas, Online
- 2021Transformations - UNIT, London, United Kingdom
- 2021NFT Now - techspressionism.com, curated by Anne Spalter, Online
- 2021Right Click + Save - Coinhako, curated by Clara Peh, Singapore
- 2021Dreamverse - Dreamverse, New York, New York, USA
- 2021The Digital | Miami Beach 2021 - The Digital, Miami Beach, Florida, USA
- 2019STEAM: Math and Art - West Windsor Art Center, Princeton Junction, New Jersey, USA
- 2019LAND\SCAPE - Specto, Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, USA
- 2019Contemporary + Digital Art Fair NYC - Lightbox, New York, New York, USA
- 2019AIMIE - Federation of Canadian Artists Gallery, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- 2019Time - Open in Art Space, Santa Barbara, CA
- 2019Floating Points - Georgetown Art Center, Georgetown, Texas, USA
- 2018The People's Gallery - City Hall, Austin, Texas, USA
- 2018West Austin Studio Tour - Blue Genie, Austin, Texas, USA
- 2018Tomo 002 - Trámite, Querétaro, México
- 2018East Austin Studio Tour - East Side Collective, Austin, Texas, USA
- 2017La Catrina Summer Meltdown Showcase - The Belmont, Austin, Texas, USA
- 2017West Austin Studio Tour - Blue Genie, Austin, Texas, USA
- 2017ESC Summer Design Party - East Side Collective, Austin, Texas, USA
- 2017First Friday Art Walk (Featured) - Art Connections Gallery, Bastrop, Texas, USA
- 2017East Austin Studio Tour - East Side Collective, Austin, Texas, USA
- 2017ESC Spring Design Party - East Side Collective, Austin, Texas, USA
- 2016Milk + Cereal Gallery Opening - Milk + Cereal Gallery, Austin, Texas, USA
- 2016East Austin Studio Tour - East Side Collective, Austin, Texas, USA
- 2016ESC Fall Design Party - East Side Collective, Austin, Texas, USA
Other
- 2024Hall of Honor Award - The University of Texas at Austin, College of Natural Sciences
- 2019Amethyst (Best in Show) - Envision Arts, curated by Ginger Cochran, Online
- 2017
Texas Biennial - Short List, curated by Leslie Moody Castro
Public Collections
- The Museum of Art + Light
- SFMOMA (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art)
- LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art)
- University of Texas at Austin, College of Natural Sciences
Select Private Collections
- 6529
- Alan Howard
- Cozomo de' Medici
- Hivemind Digital Culture Fund
- The Curated Collection
Press and Publications
- 2024Forbes - "Museum Of Art + Light Opening In Kansas With An Industry-Leading Focus On Digital Art" by Chadd Scott, November 3
- 2024Right Click Save - "Herndon, Dryhurst, and Hobbs on Liquid Images" by Alex Estorick, October 7
- 2024Le Random - "Intervening with 2010s Technologies" by Peter Bauman, July 30
- 2024UNIT - "Tyler Hobbs and Casey Reas in Conversation with LACMA" by Dhyandra Lawson, June 19
- 2024LACMA Unframed - "'I use the computer to explore what it means to be a human': Tyler Hobbs’ Connected for the Moment 1 and Discrete Affection #3" by Caitlin Spencer, June 18
- 2024LACMA Unframed - "Remembrance of Things Future: A Conversation with Tyler Hobbs, Artist Experimenting on the Blockchain" by Lady Cactoid, June 5
- 2024Le Random - "Demystifying Generative Aesthetics" by Peter Bauman, March 21
- 2023Le Random - "Tyler Hobbs on Algorithmic Aesthetics" by Peter Bauman, December 12
- 2023Forbes Japan - "Generative Art Leader Talks Technology, Business, and Art" by Mariko Nishimura, May 5
- 2023ARTnews - "A New Generation of Computer Plotting Arrives at Pace via Tyler Hobbs" by Shanti Escalante-de Mattei, April 18
- 2023Outland - "Manual Override: In the work of Tyler Hobbs, the relationship between humans and machines is filled with productive tensions" by Jo Lawson-Tancre, April 21
- 2023UNIT - "Hans Ulrich Obrist in discussion with Tyler Hobbs", April 3
- 2023Artsy - "New Artist Spotlight: Tyler Hobbs at Unit London", April 3
- 2023Artnet News - "Generative Art Sensation Tyler Hobbs Has Filled His Debut London Show With Old-Fashioned Paintings—Painted by a Robot, That Is" by Naomi Rea, March 10
- 2023Forbes - "How Generative NFT Artist Tyler Hobbs’ London And New York Shows Explore The Human/Machine Relation" by Nargess Banks, March 15
- 2023Euronews - "How generative artist Tyler Hobbs blurs boundaries between machine and hand-made art" by Jonny Walfisz, March 23
- 2023Pace Gallery - "Tyler Hobbs on Agnes Martin’s Enduring Power", March 23
- 2023Christie’s - "Tyler Hobbs on Generative Art and NFTs", February 28
- 2023NFT Now - "Exclusive: Tyler Hobbs Unveils First Physical QQLs as Paintings" by Eric James Beyer, February 15
- 2023FAD Magazine - "Tyler Hobbs to Open 2 Major Solo Exhibitions in London and New York" by Mark Westwall, February 1
- 2023Wallpaper* - "Meet Tyler Hobbs, the breakout star of generative art" by Nick Compton, January 31
- 2022Wallpaper* - "Generative art: the creatives powering the AI art boom" by Nick Compton, December 12
- 2022Artnet News - "How Generative Art Sensation Tyler Hobbs Is Defying a Shrinking NFT Market" by Zachary Small, December 7
- 2022NFT Now - "Art Blocks: Snowfro, Tyler Hobbs, and More on the Rise of Generative NFT Art" by Langston Thomas, November 28
- 2022Right Click Save - "Tyler Hobbs on QQL and the Future of Generative Art" by Alex Estorick, October 24
- 2022CoinDesk - "What Are Generative Art NFTs?" by Mason Marcobello, October 25
- 2022Decrypt - "Royalties Chaos Shows Ethereum NFT Market 'More Serious' Than Solana: Fidenza Artist Tyler Hobbs" by Andrew Hayward, October 18
- 2022The Block - "Fidenza artist Tyler Hobbs has a new idea: buy now, mint later NFTs" by Ryan Weeks, October 8
- 2022Right Click Save - "An Interview with Tyler Hobbs - Part 1" by Jason Bailey, May 9
- 2022Right Click Save - "An Interview with Tyler Hobbs - Part 2" by Jason Bailey, May 9
- 2022Artnet News - "Sotheby’s Latest ‘Natively Digital’ Sale, Featuring Old-School Digital Artists, Squeaks by Its Low Estimate to Bring in $2.3 Million" by Eileen Kinsella, May 2
- 2022The GaryVee Audio Experience Podcast - "How Physical Items Will Be Tied To NFTs", April 14
- 2022The New York Times - "Can an Art History Frame Help Expand the NFT Market?" by Zachary Small, April 14
- 2022Austin Monthly (Print) - "All that Glitters is Code" by Emma Schkloven, March
- 2022Crysalis - "A Whirlwind History of Generative Art: from Molnár to Hobbs", March 14
- 2022Arab News - "6 must-see artworks at Saudi Arabia’s NFT exhibition", February 21
- 2022Bankless Times - "Top Up-and-Coming NFT Artists", February 16
- 2022Decrypt - "How Art Blocks Is Building for the Future After the Ethereum NFT Boom" by Andrew Hayward, January 14
- 2022Art Blocks - After Dinner Mints Podcast with Tyler Hobbs & bonafidehan, Episode 31, January 5
- 2021The Information - "Minting Takes Manhattan: An NFT Gallery Sells Millions Even Before the Art Is Made" by Margaux MacColl, December 11
- 2021DeCential - "Tyler Hobbs and the Random Power of Generative Art" by Matthew Leising, December 14
- 2021Nylon - "2021's Best (Non-Celebrity) NFT Projects" by Layla Halabian, December 29
- 2021Business Insider - "How to Make It Big With NFTs: Fidenza Artist Tyler Hobbs Explains His Process" by Lisa Kailai Han, December 11
- 2021PVP Live - "Best NFT Artists To Watch Out For In 2022" by Christian Allen Tandoc, December 3
- 2021CryptoCoin.news - "Top NFT Artists To Add To Your 2022 Watchlist", December 1
- 2021Daniel Pinchbeck - "When the Intangible Meets the Ineffable", December 19
- 2021Wired - "The 10,000 Faces That Launched an NFT Revolution" by Sandra Upson, November 11
- 2021Coinbase - "Art Collector’s Guide to NFTs", November 17
- 2021Mint Podcast - "When In Doubt, Keep Creating: Tyler Hobbs and Generative Art" by Adam Levy, October
- 2021GitHub - "Web3 Community Call: Non Fungible Tokens and Generative Art: Community Call with Omoju Miller", September 15
- 2021ARTnews - "Algorithm-Generated NFTs Are Quickly Rising in Value. Can Art Blocks Up the Quality?" by Shanti Escalante-De Mattei, September 13
- 2021Cointelegraph Magazine - "Fidenza: Tyler Hobbs wrote software that generates art worth millions" by Elias Ahonen, September 13
- 2021The Block - "Fidenza artist Tyler Hobbs: NFTs are 'going to play a huge role in the art world'" by Ryan Weeks, September 9
- 2021Al-Tiba9 Magazine - ISSUE09, Fall
- 2021Forbes - "The NFT Generative Art Movement Is Challenging How We Think About Value" by Leeor Shimron, September 8
- 2021India Times - "This NFT Artwork By Tyler Hobbs Was Just Sold For $3.3 Million" by Bharat Sharma, September 5
- 2021Decrypt - "What Is Art Blocks and Why Are These NFTs Suddenly Selling for Millions in Ethereum?" by Andrew Hayward, August 26
- 2021Forbes - "JPEG Mania: How NFTs Are Capturing The Heart Of The Crypto Market" by Cole Peterson, August 18
- 2021Texas Standard - "Texas Company, Art Blocks Helps Digital Artists Find A Lucrative Market For Their Work" by Shelly Brisbin, August 12
- 2021The Defiant - "Art Blocks NFTs Soar as Savvy Collectors Snap Up Edgy Pieces" by yyctrader, August 3
- 2021Texas Monthly - "Art Blocks Brings Big Money to Artists Who Paint With Code" by Omar L. Gallaga, July 14
- 2021ARTYNFT - Interview with Tyler Hobbs, July
- 2021PROOF - "Tyler Hobbs: Designing NFT Generative Art with a Traditional Touch" by Kevin Rose, June 29
- 2021Generate Collective - "Generative Art, Lisp, Cryptoart, and GANs", February 13
- 2020Art the Science - "Creators - Tyler Hobbs" by McKenzie Prillaman, October 15
- 2020Voyage Dallas - "Meet Tyler Hobbs", August 10
- 2020Artfolio Annual - 2020 Edition
- 2019Tech+Art Podcast - "Tyler Hobbs, Artist and Programmer", December
- 2019Voyage Houston - "Meet Tyler Hobbs", August 6
- 2019Envision Arts Online Magazine - "Patterns and Processes", July
- 201821st Century Creative Podcast - "Tyler Hobbs: an Artist Who Paints with Code" with Mark McGuinness
- 2018Market Cafe Mag - Issue 3, February
- 2017OpenSource.com - "Generative art: How to hack a painting", September 14
- 2015SciArt Magazine - "Autonomous Art", December
Speaking
- 2023Christie's Art+Tech Summit - New York, New York, USA
- 2022Art Blocks - Fidenza Mural Lecture, Marfa, Texas, USA
- 2022VeeCon - U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
- 2022Consensus Conference - Austin Convention Center, Austin, Texas, USA
- 2020Austin Forum for Technology + Art - Austin, Texas, USA
- 2019Processing Community Day - "Generative Art is Not About Math", Austin, Texas, USA
- 2018Clojure/conj - "Code Goes In, Art Comes Out", Durham, North Carolina, USA
- 2017Strange Loop - "How to Hack a Painting", St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Education
- 2010B.S. Computer Science, University of Texas at Austin