Visitors mint their own generative art NFT at Art Basel 2022 in Switzerland

At this year's Art Basel in the Swiss city Basel, the pioneering exhibition Chance Encounters in New Mediums: Generative Art, presented by Tezos, is highlighting the modern resurgence of generative art. Tezos, an energy-efficient blockchain, is converting the generative art into a live artistic process in which the element of chance is embraced and engraved onto the blockchain in this one-of-a-kind interactive display. Visitors get to co-create a new generative artwork that is instantly minted as an NFT and it's given to participants in real-time as part of the interactive experience. The exhibition is headed by Herbert W Franke, a visionary early generative art pioneer and science fiction writer, with his 1979 MONDRIAN software, courtesy of Herbert W Franke and Susanne Päch. The TI-99/4, the first 16-bit home computer, was used to produce MONDRIAN, a dynamic generative software. A 21:21 minute sequence of the dynamic generative programme captured at a solo show at ZKM in 2010, now minted as an NFT on Tezos is on display.

Additionally, the Tezos NFT Speaker Series raises awareness of NFT's important role in the art industry and beyond. Tezos, a low-energy blockchain, has risen to prominence as the platform of choice for artists seeking to mint NFTs in a sustainable and responsible manner. Tezos' installation Chance Encounters in New Mediums stands in the middle of the gallery, surrounded by the work of four generative artists. Aleksandra Jovani, Eko33, Ryan Bell, and Sam Tsao are demonstrating generative algorithms that allow participants to co-create a new generative artwork that is instantly minted as an NFT and distributed to attendees in real-time.

For generative artists, blockchains like Tezos are helping to re-imagine the digital canvas. Art, like technology, is in a perpetual state of change. The show looks at how art and technology are evolving together, and how artists around the world are redefining what generative art might be in this new medium. The Tezos art exhibition encourages visitors to immerse themselves in this environment and learn first-hand about the importance of NFTs in the arts and beyond. The generative art platform fx(hash) is at the heart of the show. It is a one-of-a-kind tool in the field of NFT art, allowing collectors to interact with generative art in a whole new way via the blockchain technology. The interactive aspect of the exhibit, powered by fx(hash), allows visitors to scan a QR code to start the process of producing a new artwork created autonomously by one of the artist's algorithms. Each contact with the exhibit is a chance encounter; an opportunity to initiate the development of a new generative artwork that is instantly minted as an NFT and given to visitors.

MONDRIAN (1979/2010/2022) is a dynamic visual and sound software created by Herbert W Franke in 1979 for Texas Instruments. It was named after Piet Mondrian, a Dutch artist who was a founder of the constructivism movement in the early 20^th century. Strong horizontal and vertical features, as well as blocks of colour, characterise Mondrian's work, which is generally painted in rich, brilliant tones. On Tezos, the sequence has been coined as an NFT.

Tezos has attracted a wide global community of artists, collectors, and builders due to its energy-efficient architecture and low costs for minting and transacting NFTs. More artists are choosing to produce on Tezos than ever before, thanks to prominent NFT platforms like fx(hash), Objtk.com, and Teia.art. Tezos art marketplace sales have increased by 70 per cent in the previous 30 days, with Objkt.com, the largest marketplace in the Tezos ecosystem, just surpassing $100 million in sales.

The exhibition is on display at Art Basel in Basel from June 16 to 19, 2022, with a focus on a live artistic environment. The element of chance is cherished and inscribed onto the blockchain in this process.