With a mix of arabesque design and AI-generated imagery, artist Jason Seife’s latest exhibition bears elements of the intricate and the infinite.
Titled Generascope, his first solo show in the region is currently on view at ICD Brookfield Place in the Dubai International Financial Centre and features four new paintings, 50 prints of his NFT artworks, and a digital animation shown on a large, immersive screen display.
With a background in graphic design, he began producing paintings in 2013 that he would become known for — detailed replications of arabesque carpets, transferred from textile to paint on canvas.
Four meticulously executed paintings, produced in the past year, are on view as part of the show at ICD Brookfield Place, which is also presenting new elements in the artist’s practice, specifically his venture into generative art.
In late 2021, he collaborated with developer Andrew Cassetti to create an algorithmic code that turned 11 hand-drawn images (also called “seed images”) into infinite iterations of designs. In the end, Seife decided on 1,111 versions to be sold as NFTs on OpenSea. His first digital artwork sold for $100,000.
Seife says that through NFTs, he is also able to reach more audiences who can experience his creations differently via screens.
Despite these projects, Seife insists that his primary interest remains with putting the brush on canvas. “I’m a painter still. Even these digital works are coming from hand drawings, and they’ll always go back to that.” His approach to working with algorithms, he says, is to enable more versions of his work while still retaining the uniqueness of each pattern.
Generascope is on view at ICD Brookfield Place until April 3.