Snowfro

For decades, art created with algorithms and code has been marginalized, recognized only by academia and the digital art community, but overlooked by the traditional art world.
With the rise of blockchain-based collectibles, this situation has changed. Blockchain collectibles provide artists working in this style known as 'generative art' a reliable way to prove authenticity, establish provenance, and sell their work directly to collectors.
Today, well-known institutions such as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the Pompidou Center in Paris, and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York are exhibiting works by generative artists, and this expansion coincides with the rise of platforms like Art Blocks.

Digital artist and marketing wizard Jack Butcher has been called a “crossover” success story, having created a unique identity that blends personal branding, cultural commentary, and a lot of memes, but these aren’t just memes, they simplify complex ideas about creativity, currency, and value using minimalist artwork that delivers a highbrow message.
Butcher calls his success on web3 a perfect combination of freedom and fun, which was a relief for him because he worked in the advertising industry for a long time - first working for a Fortune 100 company and later starting his own advertising agency - but never quite gave him the lifestyle and platform he wanted.

Launched in the wake of the excitement of 2020’s DeFi Summer and before the 2021 NFT craze, Art Blocks was a platform for creating generative computer art and minting it as NFTs, which quickly became popular with collectors seeking new digital art and artists looking to distribute their work on the Ethereum blockchain.
Art Blocks was founded by NFT pioneer artist Erick Calderon (aka Snowfro) in November 2020. Calderon created Chromie Squiggles as a proof of concept for his vision of creating generative art. The Art Blocks logo is even based on the Squiggles design. Within six months, the platform was already hiring a full-time team.

Erick Calderon, better known as Snowfro, is the founder of Art Blocks, the platform behind iconic generative art series such as Chromie Squiggles (original), Tyler Hobbs' Fidenza, and Monica Rizzoli's Fragments of an Infinite Field.
Although he is now recognized as a key figure in the generative art field, Calderon's journey began in a completely different industry: running a tile business. He viewed tiles as the most durable home solution, reflecting his current views on NFTs and digital art as lasting, authentic records with timestamps.