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Tyler Hobbs

A crafted combination of precise computational structure and unpredictable randomness

“His work looks at pioneers of computer art. It’s almost encyclopaedic – it’s a history and a protest against forgetting.” 

 

– Hans Ulrich Obrist, Artistic Director, Serpentine Galleries

That messy meeting point between order and chaos is fuel for emergence – the opportunity for something new to occur that even the artist had not imagined. The speed and power of the algorithm are utilised for their new territorial reach. After all, code is already pushing everything else onto these new grounds. What other new experiences can computation reveal?

Rather than divorcing from natural and traditional forms, Hobbs chooses to use the algorithm as a tool for their analysis. Systematically speaking, what makes something feel natural instead of digital? Why do errors, flaws, and unexpected extrusions enable our acceptance and sense of wonder? In what ways does the computer tend to favour the strict and unbending, and where might its propensity for massive randomness be capitalised for deep aesthetic exploration? Lessons learned from the artistic examination of these areas can make our digital existence more comfortable, or at least more interesting.

  • Installation View: Tyler Hobbs, 'Mechanical Hand', Unit, 2023

  • Installation View: Tyler Hobbs, 'Mechanical Hand', Unit, 2023

  • Installation View: Tyler Hobbs, 'Mechanical Hand', Unit, 2023

  • Installation View: Tyler Hobbs, 'Mechanical Hand', Unit, 2023

NFTs

Tyler Hobbs

Connected For the Moment 2

2023

NFT

Unique Original

170 ETH

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Tyler Hobbs

Careless and Well-Intentioned #2

2022

NFT and limited edition print

Unique original

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Tyler Hobbs

One One Overflow

2022

NFT

Unique original

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Tyler Hobbs

Return Zero [Blue] 0.7

2021

NFT

Unique original

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Tyler Hobbs

Careless and Well-Intentioned #0

2022

NFT

Unique original

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Tyler Hobbs

F(l)ight #19

2022

NFT

Unique original

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Tyler Hobbs

Fidenza #313

2021

NFT

Unique original

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Tyler Hobbs

Fidenza #410

2021

NFT

Unique original

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Tyler Hobbs

Fidenza #222

2021

NFT

Unique original

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Selected Works

Tyler Hobbs

user_space

2022

Charcoal and graphite on paper
114.3 x 91.44 cm (135 x 112 cm framed)

Tyler Hobbs

Return One [Red]

2021/2022

Acrylic and oil on canvas
182.88 x 182.88 cm

Tyler Hobbs

Aligned Movement

2020

Graphite and gouache on paper
76 x 57 cm (78 x 102 cm framed)

Tyler Hobbs

Jacquard Legacy

2023

Acrylic and ink on linen
152.4 x 121.92 cm

Exhibitions

TEN

A decade of Unit

21 September - 30 September 2023

Tyler Hobbs

Mechanical Hand

7 March - 6 April 2023

Nassima Landau

Group Exhibition

17 November - 23 December 2022

  • Tyler Hobbs in his studio, 2022. Courtesy of the Artist.

  • Tyler Hobbs in his studio, 2022. Courtesy of the Artist.

  • Tyler Hobbs in his studio, 2022. Courtesy of the Artist.

Watch

Interview

In the News

Biography

Tyler Hobbs (b.1987) is a visual artist from Austin, Texas. His work 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. By taking a generative approach to art making, his work also explores the possibilities of creation at scale and the powers of emergence.

Hobbs’ most notable project, Fidenza, is a series of 999 algorithmically generated works comprising one of the most sought-after fine art NFT collections of all time. His drawings, paintings, and digital works have been privately collected around the world. In 2021, Hobbs was included in the generative group exhibition, Transformations, at Unit.

His solo exhibitions include, Mechanical Hand (2023), at Unit, London, UK; QQL: Analogs (2023) at Pace, New York City, USA; Progress (2018) at Galería Dos Topos, León, Mexico, and Incomplete Control (2021) at Bright Moments Gallery in Manhattan, New York. Hobbs holds a BS in Computer Science from the University of Texas at Austin.

Hobbs’ works are held in the public collections of LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) and SFMOMA (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art).

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