D-Circulate
36”x36”, Cut paper collage with acrylic paint, inkjet & protective varnish on canvas over panel, 2024

My work explores the intersection between digital technology and traditional painting, combining elements of chance, generative abstraction, and the manipulation of code.

The work draws inspiration from artists like Sol Lewitt, John Cage, and Jean Arp, who embraced procedural and chance-based approaches to art. Embracing the digital medium, I remain deeply connected to the historic tradition of painting, highlighting the continuity between the past and the present.

I use computer code as a creative tool, modifying its parameters to generate animations based on the unstable paths of speeding particles after collision. Each collision is a relatively random event of particles reacting to each other, based on behaviors such as speed, curvature and gravity. These collisions lead to the creation of abstract forms that then transition from the digital realm to the physical world.

SpringDither 2
36”x36”, Cut paper collage with acrylic paint, inkjet & protective varnish on canvas over
panel, 2023

Catalyst Dither 5
36”x36”, Cut paper collage with acrylic paint, inkjet & protective varnish on canvas over
panel, 2023.

I extract digital files generated by the collisions and transform them into mosaic formats, collapsing the highest tech with the lowest tech imaging. Form is created by gluing hand-painted paper squares onto grounds of painted canvas. Color and visual textures are essential elements in my work, creating layers of depth and movement within the paintings. The work becomes a mediation
between the definition and dissolution of the picture plane, engaging with spatial logic in a way that disrupts traditional boundaries.

Conflating the ancient medium of mosaic with the digital, I have interpreted my paintings into large-scale commissions through the medium of glass tile. I simulate collisions to interact with an architectural space. Each pixel in the design becomes a small tile, enabling a rich array of color and texture.

Transmigration,
Capital One Headquarters, McLean, VA
Glass tile mosaic, 12’h x 45’w, 2017.
(Kevin Thomasson Photography)

Electromagnetic Iteration
8’ x 16.5‘, Glass tile mosaic, The Mayo
Clinic, Rochester, MN, 2021,
(George Heinrich Photography)

Remsen Hall, Queens College,
Electromagnetic Fall
Detail
Glass tile mosaic, 3 floors. 3
walls, 9 columns, 2010, (Victor Schrager Photography)

As an extension of my painting practice, I create animations which draw inspiration from ephemeral phenomena. These animations play out the act of painting, giving the viewer an experience of forms growing, dissipating, and dissolving. Drawing in space and time, the animations slow down the act of viewing to become meditative. On large LED screens, the animations become to me like large–scale paintings that move.

While my work is initially inspired by particle collisions, the resulting paintings evoke a sense of microscopic landscapes that may remind viewers of outer space or ocean depths. This transformation adds depth and complexity to my artistic exploration.

The work reflects tension between technology and handcraft. It explores the relationship between algorithmic data and traditional pictorial art, bridging the digital and physical worlds. It challenges traditional notions of art and opens up new possibilities for creative expression.

Dither_Interpolate3
36”x36”, Cut paper collage with acrylic paint, inkjet & protective varnish on canvas over
panel, 2023

Coriolis_Dither
24”x24”, Cut paper with acrylic paint, inkjet & protective varnish on canvas over panel,
2022

Radial Dither 30
24”x24”, Cut paper with acrylic paint, inkjet & protective varnish on canvas over panel
2020

Radial Dither 12
24×24”, Cut paper with acrylic paint, inkjet & protective varnish on canvas over panel,
2019

Radial Dither 40
24”x24”, Cut paper with acrylic paint, inkjet & protective varnish on canvas over panel,
2021

Dither_3144
24”x24”, Cut paper with acrylic paint, inkjet & protective varnish on canvas over panel,
2022

Radial Blue
24”x24”, Cut paper with acrylic paint, inkjet & protective varnish on canvas over panel,
2021

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www.carterhodgkin.com

All images copyright and courtesy of Carter Hodgkin

Art, Computing, Creativity, Pattern, Space