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.
Art Blocks is a leading generative art marketplace that simplifies the way artists create, sell, and distribute their works.
Art Blocks was founded by Erick Calderon (aka Snowfro) in November 2020, revitalizing a formerly emerging market with secondary sales exceeding $1.4 billion.
In this transition, few have played a bigger role than Jeff Davis, an entrepreneurial artist with a mathematician's spirit, who served as Chief Creative Officer of Art Blocks from 2021 to 2023.
Davis spent over 30 years exploring the intersection of color theory, code, and computation. As a trained painter, he turned to design software in 1999 to enhance the precision of his work, which ultimately led him to explore mathematical randomness and generative systems by coding certain parameters and observing the visual configurations that emerged.
Throughout his artistic career, he has created a range of works exhibited internationally, including at the Bright Moments gallery, known for live-generated art. His works have also been sold through major art fairs and auctions, such as Sotheby's, Phillips, and Art Dubai.
Conceptual art and early computer art largely shaped Davis's creative approach: he cites Sol LeWitt, Vera Molnar, and Herbert W. Frank as his main creative influences.
The guiding murals of LeWitt and the early computational experiments of Molnar and Frank date back to the 1950s and 1960s, laying the groundwork for generative art long before blockchain (or even personal computing) changed the world.
Davis is now a Strategic Advisor to Art Blocks and a co-founder of the Generative Art Foundation, focusing on funding, education, and institutional promotion for the generative art movement. His latest project, 'Progression', was released on March 11 at Art Blocks Studio, exploring color transitions and algorithmic design.
Next, as 'Progression' continues until March 25, Davis will reflect on the evolution of generative art, the impact of Art Blocks, and future developments.
OpenSea: Let's start from the beginning, how did you initially get involved with Art Blocks?
Jeff Davis: I started using Art Blocks in the second half of 2020. I have been working in art for 30 years. I trained in traditional media (painting and drawing) and earned a master's degree in painting, but I also have a math background; I majored in math as an undergraduate. So, however I express myself, my artistic practice has always integrated systems thinking and problem-solving.
As my artistic career has progressed, I have increasingly leaned towards digital creation. I began sketching using computer drawing and painting applications before painting or making them into traditional prints. Eventually, I abandoned traditional media and used the computer as a printmaking device. I created works similar to painting and drawing, but kept them in digital format and then made them into prints.
OpenSea: This is a very interesting transition - from traditional painting to digital art, and finally to generative art. What prompted you to start incorporating computers into your work?
Jeff Davis: Around 2009 or 2010, I became interested in what it meant to introduce randomness or chance into the structured framework I was developing, which led me to some preliminary explorations, creating random data tables using spreadsheets and then drawing them manually.
But then, I discovered a programming language called Processing, which many generative artists use today, and that was a breakthrough for me. I self-taught myself how to code, and my background in math helped a lot. Since then, I've become a generative artist.
For years, I have been working this way - developing systems that specify visual elements, introduce randomness, and generate unique outputs. I exhibited my prints in galleries in Phoenix and still consider myself a digital printmaker.
Then, in 2019, I discovered NFTs. I don't remember exactly how it started, but I became familiar with platforms like SuperRare and KnownOrigin. I think they followed me on Twitter, and then I went to check it out. I suddenly realized these were markets for digital works without physical manifestations, which really resonated with me because it meant I didn't have to take the final step of creating physical objects - a purely digital art market existed.
I bought some ETH and did some early experiments with SuperRare in 2019, selling some works - mainly selling to other artists, buying and selling among ourselves. By early 2020, I decided to create a dedicated larger generative project for release, called 'Abstract Tokens', which included 60 generative NFTs - one-to-one images minted separately on SuperRare. I sold out the collection and then realized, 'Okay, this is the real deal.'
OpenSea: That must have been a significant turning point; was that when Art Blocks emerged?
Jeff Davis: That's right. At the end of 2020, Art Blocks founder Erick Calderon discovered my NFT work. He emailed me saying he loved my work and thought it would fit perfectly on the platform he was building. At that time, Art Blocks didn't exist yet; it was still in development.
I was immediately captivated because during the process of creating my SuperRare series, I suddenly realized that for generative artists, putting their code online for people to generate outputs from, rather than manually selecting and minting individual pieces, made much more sense. I immediately understood Erick's vision and was excited about it.
So I prepared a project and collaborated with Erick. When Art Blocks launched in November 2020, I was one of the first three projects on the platform. Erick had 'Chromie Squiggles', his brother Danny had 'Genesis', and I launched 'Construction Token'.
We released them on November 27, 2020, and Danny and I sold out on opening day, while Erick sold an equal amount of Chromie Squiggles. It was amazing, which further convinced me of how incredible it is to do this work on the blockchain as NFTs.
After the launch, I started doing some entrepreneurial things, like running Davis Editions, a contemporary art print publishing company, but I told Erick, 'If you're going to build Art Blocks into a business, I want to be involved.' So I set aside other ventures and became the Chief Creative Officer of Art Blocks, helping to manage the art pipeline, work with artists, and oversee project releases.
OpenSea: How long have you held this position?
Jeff Davis: About two and a half years ago, my role changed; about a year and a half ago, I transitioned from Chief Creative Officer to Strategic Advisor. Now, I work closely with Erick at a higher level, helping to guide the direction of Art Blocks and focusing on public engagement - going out, talking about what we're doing, expanding our audience - things like that.
OpenSea: It seems you've left a very creative curatorial legacy. The curation model of Art Blocks has changed, with incredible rotating collections. Since the launch of Art Blocks, how do you view the development of the generative art space? Essentially, since Art Blocks has normalized generative art, how do you see people creating based on your works?
Jeff Davis: Yes, absolutely. Before Art Blocks, I had been doing generative art but didn't know anyone else was working in the same way. I felt like I was in a vacuum; when I pitched my digital prints to traditional galleries in Phoenix, I would say, 'I have 40 digital prints made by a computer program,' but they would just look at me blankly.
OpenSea: It's like 'a computer program - what?!'
Jeff Davis: That's right, I started to downplay the fact that I use a computer. I would tend to focus on aesthetics - discussing abstraction, color, and composition - because whenever I mentioned algorithms, people would tune out, which was 15 or 20 years ago when people weren't ready for that.
OpenSea: Are you worried that using a computer might undermine your credibility? Like writers worried that AI might replace their craft?
Jeff Davis: Not entirely, I didn't mean to hide it, but I found that if I focused on the art aspect, the conversation would be more productive. It was just practical - for example, talking about color, rather than the code behind the colors, just to engage better. But now, the conversation has completely changed; people are more interested in how the code works, they want to understand it, because technology drives every aspect of our lives. Generative art now has a home in the art world, and it’s very gratifying to see that.
OpenSea: Let's talk about your new series; what is its theme? When can we expect it?
Jeff Davis: It's called 'Progression', released on March 11 at Art Blocks Studio. The project primarily involves color theory, exploring how colors transition from one to another. The core concept is simple: given two colors, how do you create a smooth gradient between them? I wrote an algorithm that selects a set of colors, arranges them horizontally or vertically, and generates uniform visual steps between them.
There are some random features that can change the way color progresses, some outputs use different steps, while others create smooth gradients, some use colored pastels, others emphasize saturated colors, and there are features that pay homage to Rothko and Gene Davis, with certain outputs reflecting their artistic styles.
I will donate 50% of the profits from 'Progression' to the Generative Art Foundation that Erick and I co-founded.
OpenSea: That's incredible, please tell us more about the Generative Art Foundation.
Jeff Davis: It began with the Generative Art Fund in 2021. We held a Sotheby's auction showcasing early Art Blocks works. Erick and I decided to donate the proceeds from our collection sales instead of benefiting personally. Over time, other artists contributed to the fund through their Art Blocks projects, and eventually, we were able to expand the mission into the Generative Art Foundation.
Now, the Generative Art Foundation funds educational programs, institutional resources, and digital preservation initiatives. We are actively fundraising to expand these efforts, and 'Progression' is one way I contribute to this mission.
OpenSea: Finally, I'm curious, how do you view the evolution of the concept of generative art? Do you think it is gaining mainstream recognition?
Jeff Davis: We are on the edge; it's appeared in major museums, but people don't always realize what they are looking at. You can walk into the Museum of Modern Art in New York or the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and see generative or algorithmic works, but the general public may not immediately connect them with the dynamics of today's digital art.
OpenSea: This is a huge shift compared to a few years ago.
Jeff Davis: Of course, much of the work I do now, especially through the Generative Art Foundation, is to help people understand this context. Generative art doesn't have to be tied to NFTs, and NFTs themselves are not generative art. But what blockchain does is allow these works to be seen, collected, and appreciated in a way that was previously impossible.
OpenSea: So, the blockchain is more like a record-keeping tool, but it is an independent art form in itself.
Jeff Davis: That's right, the focus is on dissemination: exposure, education, and ensuring that these works have a place in broader art discussions.
OpenSea: You are balancing all of this with your own artistic practice. How are you handling it?
Jeff Davis: Yes, I wear many hats, but at the end of the day, it's all about ensuring that people see the value of what is being created now, which is contemporary art - it just happens to be made with code.
OpenSea: Jeff, this conversation has been fantastic; thank you so much for your time.
Jeff Davis: Thank you! I really appreciate it.
#ArtBlocks #Snowfro #SuperRare
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