Caught in a Void is a generative artwork by M. J. Lindow exploring his reflection of the 571 days between the begin of pandemic and becoming a full-time generative artist. This personal element sets the artwork apart in the rather abstract generative art space and gives each unique iteration (there are 571 — one for each day) a place, time, and emotion of its own.

The artwork captures not only a particular period of the artist’s life, but also falls into the major period of Covid lockdowns. Upon the personal theme always lies the broader collective experience of global uncertainty, isolation, emotional and physical distress, and inward reflection.

“By the end of summer 2020, I felt like I was wandering in a wasteland: a colorless landscape devoid of direction, enjoyment, or meaning. The first thing to enter my awareness when I would wake in the middle of the night was an oppressive emptiness.” — M.J. Lindow

In Caught in a Void the artist portrays the night of the soul. The past seems to have faded, tomorrow remains elusive. Sparks of bright moments and hopefulness appear to enhance the figure’s longing to interact with life, just before they fade away again. Bright and dark moments ebb and flow like the trials of life. Each piece reflects a day. Each day is different and yet they all seem the same.

The project’s 571 editions seem to encompass an entire emotional spectrum that predominantly pivots around these feelings of alienation. Compellingly, Caught in a Void illustrates how generative collections are meant to be seen as one whole unified work regardless of the number of iterations. Each iteration represents a different perspective of the underlying theme’s emotional spectrum, generated by the same rules but without any particular order.

Lindow’s algorithm uses a weighting system to select black, white, and muted color palettes more frequently than vibrant options. However, in the project’s final piece, iteration #571, we see the figure looking towards light, a symbol of hope and future. That this iteration was randomly created according to the same generative rules as the previous 570 editions, fittingly closes the door on the collection. It seems that the beauty of both generative art and life itself lie in their inherent unpredictability.

The projects website at fx(hash): https://www.fxhash.xyz/generative/2726

Author’s disclosure: I am a collector and community member of fx(hash). As of the date of this article, I have one artwork by M. J. Lindow in my NFT collection.

In the morning of Thursday, February 24, Russia launched a devastating attack on Ukraine. A wave of anti-war and pro-Ukraine protests has swept the globe in condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A unique anti-war and donation initiative on the Tezos blockchain has been launched in support of Ukraine by NFT artists and community members, integrating art and strong financial instruments of NFTs and blockchain, rising more than …$ donation funds in 72 hours.

February 25, two NFT platforms on Tezos blockchain, fx(hash) and Versum, have established a wallet address that acts as a donation contract to distribute funds to non-profit organizations helping Ukraine. All funds received by that wallet will be transferred to Ukrainian non-profit organizations that accept crypto donations and are listed on The Giving Block .

NFT artists and community members have largely supported the initiative. Numerous NFT artists minted artworks on various NFT platforms on the Tezos blockchain (Versum, fx(hash), TEIA) with all proceeds automatically transferred to support of Ukraine. In their article “Generative Art in Support of Ukraine” Cicero writes:

“This initiative is perhaps unique by its reach and speed. Never before had so much art, produced by so many artists, been available to collectors in so little time. An element of success certainly resides in the trust and speed provided by the blockchain technology: these proceedings are openly traceable through their record on the blockchain.”

Almost all of the artworks highlight the blue and yellow palette of the Ukrainian flag that have become a symbol of sovereignty and anti-war protests, a symbol of international support for Ukrainian people.

There is a board that displays all artworks on Tezos blockchain with all proceeds donated to Ukraine. Below is a selection of artists who contributed to the donation campaign on Tezos.

In addition, NFTBiker and Empress Trash, prominent members of the Tezos community, compiled a list of Ukrainian artists to make it easier for collectors to collect their art in order to support them directly. On the project website, more than 100 Ukrainian NFT artists are featured at the time of the article’s publication. Also, Cabline, curator of the Tezos NFT platform Objkt, has dedicated her Twitter account to supporting Ukrainian artists.

NftBiker on Twitter: "Thanks to @EmpressTrash who worked hard to retrieve tezos wallet/twitter accounts of ukrainian artists, the event page now include 90 artists to collect from if you want to support them. Full list of artists is clickable to filter artworks by artistshttps://t.co/i41RbLG8YA https://t.co/OO9RJyzXxg / Twitter"

Thanks to @EmpressTrash who worked hard to retrieve tezos wallet/twitter accounts of ukrainian artists, the event page now include 90 artists to collect from if you want to support them. Full list of artists is clickable to filter artworks by artistshttps://t.co/i41RbLG8YA https://t.co/OO9RJyzXxg

With other payment methods becoming unreliable during the Russian invasion, crypto donations have emerged as a major way of fast financial international aid, as they are borderless, permitless, and quicker and easier than bank transfers. Since the beginning of the war, Ukraine has raised more than 15 million $ in cryptocurrencies through an unprecedented government-led crypto crowdfunding campaign. Coordination efforts like this demonstrate the potential for NFT, crypto and Web3 to be used for social good and humanitarian aid.

Web3 communities collaborating to provide humanitarian aid to the people of Ukraine have demonstrated what artists, community and technology can achieve together in 72 hours. Combined, I believe, we can accomplish much more.

If you wish to donate directly, send tezos (no NFT donations, only tezos) or set up a collab contract on versum.xyz, fxhash.xyz, or teia.art to direct % of the fees to this fundraiser address:KT1DWnLiUkNtAQDErXxudFEH63JC6mqg3HEx

View the fundraiser contracts transactions on tzkt.io

Instructions for artists how to set up a donation contract on TEIA are here: https://github.com/teia-community/teia-docs/wiki/Ukranian-Fundraising

“Color is the essence of painting, which the subject always killed.”

- Kazimir Malevich -

When I first saw Leander Herzog’s Returns on fx(hash), it struck me as almost provocative, as too blunt, too simple, too naïve. The positive feedback in my Twitter feed did not convince me otherwise. How ignorant and wrong I was! Returns is neither of those. During the quieter days of early January, it hit me. I had to come back to this piece and it revealed a vast ocean of meanings.

Leander Herzog’s minimalistic artwork displays shapes and colors. Though it initially appears static, the piece is interactive. On click, a new composition of colors and shapes is created, allowing for infinite iterations within the space of each token. The shapes are rounded, but the overall composition is close to a square, although it never mimics or touches it. Forms and colors interact, sometimes resting in themselves, sometimes involved in their own unspoken dialogue.

Since I dived into digital art, I’ve been wondering what a digital version of Kazimir Malevich’s Black Square, which was viewed as a provocation a century ago, might look like. A work of art where the purity of form and color transforms space, evokes feelings, evades thoughts. Leander Herzog’s Returns is such an artwork for me.

Every now and then, I like to come back to this art piece, playing with its shapes, watching my perceptions change with every composition, absorbing its energy and dynamic. If Kazimir Malevich had lived to see digital spaces, I believe he would have applauded seeing Returns.

In this sense, I would like to frame this article with another quote, inviting you to explore your own perceptions. You may be surprised.

“There is movement and movement. There are movements of small tension and movements of great tension and there is also a movement which our eyes cannot catch although it can be felt.”

- Kazimir Malevich -

The projects website at fx(hash): https://www.fxhash.xyz/generative/5011

Author’s disclosure: I am a collector and community member of fx(hash). As of the date of this article, I have one artwork by Leander Herzog in my NFT collection.

Yi-Wen Lin represents one of the strongest fx(hash) undercurrents. Since I started this series, I wanted to spotlight him and knew that I had to hurry. Yi-Wen Lin has released eight art projects within only four weeks in November and December 2021. Early collectors have quickly noticed his work, and he has fast become one of the most respected artists in the fx(hash) community.

In spite of their differences at first glance, all eight of the art projects share some kind of haptic feeling. The first two projects, Circles and Threads, are rather experimentations in color and remind of drawings on paper. Throughout his trilogy, Hex, Maze, and Labyrinth, the artist uses unique dot techniques to create a crumbling effect.

While the first projects seem to be a playful exploration of textures and patterns, his latest project Strand goes well beyond that. By maintaining and even increasing the texture and tactile quality, he adds to his art a strong emotional component. In the composition, entangled threads appear to be pulled in different directions by invisible forces, communicating a feeling of strain and tension of an apparently unsolvable situation.

Through this artwork, Yi-Wen Lin established himself as an artist able to transcend technical experiments and communicate deep unspoken meanings through generative art. It appears that his journey is just beginning.

A closing note: When I was attempting to unravel the threads, I realized I just had to release the powers holding them. I just had to let them go.

The projects website at fx(hash): https://www.fxhash.xyz/u/Yi-Wen%20LIN

Author’s disclosure: I’m a collector and community member at fx(hash) and have artworks by Yi-Wen Lin in my NFT collection.

Although women artists are still rarely involved in generative art, when they do, they tend to stand out. In light of this, the three female artists who released generative art projects at fx(hash) in November 2021 all deserve special attention. They are Aleksandra Jovanić, Amy Goodchild, and Lisa Orth.

Amy Goodchild’s art is centered on interactive installations but lately she has expanded also into generative art. In her blog article How does it feel to make generative art? she describes her creative process as follows:

Balance, Dance, Collaboration

I’ve talked a lot recently about how much generative art feels like a feedback loop or like collaborating with the computer. It’s a back and forth, an iteration. I have an idea, the computer does something half (or wholly) unexpected which gives me a different idea, I try that, it sparks something else… and on.

At fx(hash), she released her first project, Propagate, on November 24, 2021. It is a generative tree with “recursive branches growing in offshoots, subdividing and evolving their properties until they terminate and perhaps bear fruit”. A generative tree is a quite common theme in generative art, and since the release of her project, I have seen many variations by other artists. But to this day, I still find Amy Goodchild’s interpretation to be one of the most appealing and tasteful.

There is a lot to discover about Amy Goodchild’s art praxis in her blog on her website. I hope soon we will have some more opportunities in NFT space to see her collaboration with code come to fruition.

The project’s website at fx(hash): https://www.fxhash.xyz/generative/99

Author’s disclosure: I’m a collector and community member at fx(hash) and have by the time this article is written one artwork of Amy Goodchild my NFT collection.

Although women artists are still rarely involved in generative art, when they do, they tend to stand out. In light of this, the three female artists who released generative art projects at fx(hash) in November 2021 all deserve special attention. They are Aleksandra Jovanić, Amy Goodchild, and Lisa Orth.

Aleksandra Jovanić published her trilogy, Reflections of Stripes 001, Diffractions of Waves 002, and Refractions of Stones 003, all on November 22, 2021. Similarly to Lisa Orth, the artist also seems to treat the rarity of her work with special care, issuing relatively small editions. Herein lies the reason for including her art projects in the undercurrents series. In light of her art’s rarity, I believe that also her collections have not yet reached their full potential of attention.

Aleksandra is an artist and programmer with a solid academic background. Her artistic practice is broad and includes interactive art, art games, and generative art. Yet stripes appear to be one of the artist’s favorite themes. This quotation from Paul Rand can be found on her website, and describes very well Aleksandra’s artistic interpretations:

Stripes are dazzling, sometimes hypnotic, usually happy. They are universal. They have adorned the walls of houses, churches, and mosques. Stripes attract attention. — Paul Rand

Her animated Stipes’ trilogy with its gentle and tranquil beauty, contrasts quite nicely with the fast-paced and sometimes intrusive nature of the NFT space.

A glance at Aleksandra’s Twitter timeline reveals a generative meadow that invites lingering and exploring. With the release of her forth art project at fx(hash), Colorfalls, she has become unmissable in NFT generative space and community.

The project’s website at fx(hash): https://www.fxhash.xyz/generative/99

Author’s disclosure: I’m a collector and community member at fx(hash) and have by the time this article was written one artwork of Aleksandra Jovanićin my NFT collection.

Although women artists are still rarely involved in generative art, when they do, they tend to stand out. In light of this, the three female artists who released generative art projects at fx(hash) in November all deserve special attention. They are Aleksandra Jovanić, Amy Goodchild, and Lisa Orth.

Lisa Orth was the first women artist at fx(hash). She minted her art project on November 11, in the very first days of the Beta mode. First and foremost, Lisa Orth is not an undercurrent artist in fx(hash)! All eight of her collections have been sold out, within hours in November (not unusual these days), and within minutes in December 2021. Fans and the fx(hash) community are always eagerly awaiting her releases. While maintaining an individual signature, her art illustrates a wide range of themes, such as graphic design, architecture, and textiles. Furthermore, she treats the rarity of her work with special care, issuing relatively small editions. In fact, herein lies my reason for including her art project in the undercurrents series. In light of her art’s rarity, I believe her collections have not yet reached their full potential of attention.

It is worthwhile to study all of her works, but I chose one that I particularly value and plan to highlight on another occasion. It is the monochrome piece: A Center Near the Edges. In the artist’s description, the artwork explores constructivism, while the paintings of Ljubov Popova, a Russian avantgarde artist, served as an inspiration.

In A Center Near the Edges, Lisa Orth honors Ljubov Popova and her contribution to constructivism, shedding light on a particular period in art history, which is the Russian avantgarde. While the German avantgarde movement Bauhaus is globally well-known, few are familiar with the corresponding Russian avantgarde movement, Vkhutemas. During the 20s of the last century, Vkhutemas was home to three major movements in art and architecture: constructivism, rationalism, and supremacism. Both schools flourished during a relatively liberal era, but were shut down under increasingly totalitarian German and Russian regimes. While many Bauhaus students and teachers emigrated and significantly influenced design education around the world, Vkhutemas’ founders met tragic ends or suffered under repressions. Until today, this dark chapter in Russian art history has only gradually been brought to light. In her artwork the artist embraces both the shining mood of avantgarde with the sinister forefeeling of the coming era.

However, even without the historical context, this piece’s monochrome industrial aesthetic speaks for itself. Lisa Orth’s generative projects explore a broad range of themes giving confidence for more thoughtful work to come.

The projects website at fx(hash): https://www.fxhash.xyz/u/Lisa%20Orth

Author’s disclosure: I’m a collector and community member at fx(hash) and have artworks by Lisa Orth in my NFT collection.

To include Gerard Ferrandez in an article series entitled “undercurrents” is almost odd, as Gerard Ferrandez is not just a standout artist in his field. In 2021, he could record an impressive number of accomplishments in NFT space. His NFT artwork has been showcased by the ZKM (Center for Art and Media/Germany), one of the most renowned museums for digital art. One of the world’s largest private collections of digital art, Spalter Digital (The Anne and Michael Spalter Digital Art Collection) houses his NFT art. His first three art projects on art blocks have all been released in January/February 2021, only a few weeks after Chromie Squiggle, making him an art blocks veteran. With his first drop on fx(hash) on November 20, during the early stages of Beta, he is also one of the earliest fx(hash) pioneers.

I am sure, a lot more can be learned about this extraordinary artist. So how could it be that his artwork received relatively little attention on fx(hash)? I can only think of three reasons:
(1) One might not describe his art as pleasant.
(2) It’s not the kind of art most people print, frame, and hang in their living rooms.
(3) His art is ahead of its time.

My experience has shown that the art market favors what I would call generative fine arts. In other words, art pieces that can be printed and framed and please the observer. In contrast, Gerard Ferrandez’ dark factory aesthetic and empty futuristic cities, accompanied by real-time animations that absorb the beholder into sinister lonely landscapes, can be disorienting.

The artist’s futuristic industrial themes combined with real-time animations are challenging and probably leaps ahead of today’s mainstream. However, he seems to have had mercy on his contemporaries, as his latest artworks are static. They appear even pleasant, as futuristic empty landscapes could possibly be.

If you’re looking for an artist whose work would be better suited to a museum exhibition (and ZKM has already reached out), Gerard Fernandez (ge1doot) is someone to keep an eye on.

The projects website at fx(hash): https://www.fxhash.xyz/generative/99

Interview with the artist at art blocks: https://beta.cent.co/artblocks/+wqo2nr

Author’s disclosure: I’m a collector and community member at fx(hash) and have artworks by Gerard Ferrandez (ge1doot) in my NFT collection.

With his art project Unbuilt, Jacek Markusiewicz has become one of the rising stars on fx(hash). However, f-emerald, his genesis artwork, has not yet received much attention, although it is no less impressive.

f-emerald was released on November 15, 2021, 9 days before Unbuilt, but the two art projects couldn’t be more different. Unlike static structured Unbuilt which imitates grammatical rules behind sacral architecture, f-emerald presents a dynamic, almost organic, form. The algorithm as described by the artist, generates unique ephemeral crystal-like structures that morph in space. Each generation has a different shape, animation and color palette. The crystals flicker with colors in the dark most of the time. There is, however, a 20% chance of obtaining a crystal on a bright background with a light color palette and a 10% chance of obtaining a crystal in black and white.

f-emerald crystals are a fascinating spectacle that is a pleasure to observe. Future work by Jacek Markusiewicz is likely to be no less meticulous and stunning.

The projects website at fx(hash): https://www.fxhash.xyz/generative/99

Author’s disclosure: I’m a collector and community member at fx(hash) and have f-emerald as well as other artworks by Jacek Markusiewicz in my NFT collection.

Whenever you browse through a collection of fx(hash) OGs, you’re bound to find quite a bunch of rudxane’s BINGOs. This was not due to the small number of art projects on fx(hash) at that time or the low mint price: rudxane released his genesis project BINGO on November 10, 2021 for only 0.25 tez. The accumulation of “BINGO” in fx(hash) OG accounts occurred because the probability of an iteration with the most desired feature “negative-true” was set at 10%. Thus, minting a “negative BINGO” has quickly become the most popular game of the early fx(hash) community, creating a lot of fun in the discord. Having this little bit of historical context only adds to the appeal of the art project, which is already intriguing by itself.

BINGO is designed, as described by the artist, “as a series of random generated “bingo” cards, language unknown”.

A viewer may associate different images and languages when looking at these futuristic BINGO cards. Longtime BINGO has been overlooked and only recently has been given more attention with rudxane’s release of Tych, another very successful generative art project with related concept and aesthetic. Both art projects share rudxane’s unique artistic signature and raise hopes for further intriguing artwork to come.

The projects website at fx(hash): https://www.fxhash.xyz/u/rudxane

Author’s disclosure: I’m a collector and community member at fx(hash) and have BINGO and other rudxane NFTs in my collection.