Transitions
NOW SHOWING
A SOLO SHOW BY RAPHA
ARTIST statement
TRANSITIONS
I write code. That’s a really bizzare way to make art, when you could pick up a pencil, a brush, Photoshop, or carve away a block of marble. Instead, I carve strings of keywords together and watch the result appear on screen.
I’ve been fascinated with this process for decades: the machine doesn’t do what you want, it only does what you tell it to do. And believe me, there’s usually a big difference between the two! What is it that I tell the machine to do? I can draw 500 squares by hand, but I can’t draw 500,000 squares. So that’s what I ask: do something that I cannot. Repeat a shape a million times, draw layers of color so thin that each one is practically transparent, and surprise me with unexpected results!
In “Transitions” rectangles of color are stacked until edges blend together, and the image could be mistaken for paint. But I’m not trying to imitate paint, I want the essence of the digital nature of code to be still visible: the sharpness of some lines, the perfect underlying grid, these are still here. What lies between the digital and the analog? That’s the question that “transitions” invites you to ponder, that strange continuum where pixel meets pigment.​​
ARTIST BIO
Rapha is a generative artist based in New York City, working primarily with code. His practice centers on real-time 2D and 3D experiences in the browser, often designed as slow, meditative environments.
Through algorithms and randomness, these systems generate diverse outputs that remain coherent within a unified aesthetic framework. Rapha has also explored digital provenance, using the Bitcoin blockchain to store personal data since 2018.
His work has been exhibited internationally at museums, galleries, and digital conferences, including the NFT Museum (Seattle), Beeple’s Studio, and NFT Paris.
​
