Kjetil Golid

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Kjetil Golid, based in Norway, is a well known generative artist whose practice is informed by his background in system development and data analysis. Golid's fascination with algorithms and data structures is at the heart of his innovative approach to generative art, which he has been exploring for over a decade. Following his bachelor's degree in Graphic Design in Singapore, Golid discovered Processing during a lecture, which ignited his passion for expressive work. This led him to pursue a master's degree in mathematical logic, where he utilized Processing to visualize the algorithms and concepts he encountered. Through this process, Golid gained a profound appreciation for the true potential of computational art.

Golid's generative art pieces are functional systems that transform numbers into visuals, aiming to achieve an unexpected, emergent complexity while balancing chaos with clear structure. Previously, Golid believed that such complexity and chaos could only result from the randomness of input. However, he has come to realize that it can also emerge from simple, deterministic rules, such as cellular automata and regular grammar. As a result, Golid's practice has shifted its focus from visualizing large bodies of random numbers to creating complex systems that can emerge from very few inputs. Golid has been sharing his generative work with the public for about four years, showcasing his mastery of computational art and his ability to create mesmerizing and thought-provoking visual experiences.

Archetype is a series that began as an algorithm designed to generate potential partitions of a rectangle into smaller rectangles. The artist was initially drawn to the intriguing visual outcomes that resulted from this algorithm and spent countless hours refining and iterating upon it. The most striking feature of this series, in the artist's view, is the presence of a repetitive pattern that asserts itself amidst the chaotic structure of the piece. This effect imbues the artwork with a sense of order and structure while still allowing for a degree of unpredictability and complexity.

The cube is an important motif in conceptual art. Similar to how algorithms are created, artist Sol Lewitt generated aesthetic objects according to formulated rules. In this context, Lewitt’s rules he developed for the series were to create all possible three-dimensional structures of a cube by systemically removing its edges without repeating identical forms. Following these rules, Lewitt found 122 possible variations of incomplete open cubes.

As Golid’s algorithm is designed to generate partitions of a rectangle, similarly to Lewitt, aiming to show the potential infinite different states that can emerge from construction and deconstruction of different cubic objects, the chances of a complete cube are very low.