Published 2022-12-07
fxGems #5 ⏀ Abstract Honorable Mentions from Nov. 2021 - Part II
By Haiver
fxGems is curated by Haiver. Follow on Twitter and Mastodon for recommendations, and sign up for email notifications on Substack for when a new issue drops. To support the curation work, collect a copy of this issue or past issues, or consider minting one of my generative pieces here on fx(hash).
With 1859 projects released in November 2021, it's impossible for every good generative art project to fit in the fxGems Best of Lists for abstract and representational art, so the Honorable Mentions was born. And there are many possible reasons a project ended up in the Honorable Mentions instead of on a Best of List. There wasn't enough variety across the minted pieces, or some of the layouts were strong but other mints could have used more self-awareness between their parts. The piece was well executed but lacked originality, or the piece was original but lacked execution. Or there were a limited number of color palettes when the project would have really shone with a few more.
Or perhaps the artist still has room to grow, but we should start rooting for them now. The algorithm needed to be pushed further, techniques stacked together, or the process used made less obvious (I'm looking at you flow fields). Or they're using a library with such a distinctive look, like Hydra, that the project struggles to stand out from the crowd. And then there are the artists who had a stronger piece make the fxGems Best of List this month and we're trying to spread the love around instead of having the same few names appear repeatedly at the top (but don't want you to miss a very fun piece either!).
It's important to note that fxGems is not a ranked list. One part of good curation is putting pieces in conversation with one another, so each numbered mint featured here has been carefully selected, then ordered into groups of twos and threes to create a dialogue between the different projects. There are juxtapositions and echoes, recurring themes and visual motifs. A thread has been woven throughout. How it draws you from one project to the next is up to you to find.
If you’re looking for more recommendations, check out the representational and abstract Best of Lists, as well as the many Honorable Mentions, covering November 2021.
WTRFL by Lolo Armdz
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Landfall by 3DManatee
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Circles by Yi-Wen Lin
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CD-RandOM by meodai
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Generotique by StrangerintheQ
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Sticky Circles by loackme
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Monochrome Kaleido by TeNinEight
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Orbital by AlexandreRangel
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Cellular Canvas by nicthib
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Morse/·- ·-· - by neophob
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stre4kout by d0n.xyz
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What's Your Unknown Pleasures? by AI_is_Love_NFT
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Vertex Waves by halfbakedstuff
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Reverse by Alvis_lee
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Sand Waves by Damien Mortini
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Drip by andre
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Maale-Witz by Antti Pussinen
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Albersquares by flightdelay
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Zhi (ਜ਼੍ਹੀ) by vrnv
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Marea by esnho
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Circa November 2021 by clayheaton
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Stains by Unruly Unroll
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The Mysterious Cities of Gold by 0xm4_0
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Mechanical Organism by David González
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Pegs In Motion by devnull
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Sashiko ^ . ! - * ▪️ by Gyo
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Window by Damien Seguin
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Mosaique by phil_osophie
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School of Data by Daniel Oropeza
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Octave Waves by bramichou
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Ray III by Mathis Biabiany
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Particulate Hash 2 by Liam Egan
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fxGems is not affiliated with fx(hash) or fx(text) (hence the lack of parentheses), and none of the recommendations herein should be construed as financial advice. We’re here to celebrate the art!
Each month I go one by one through all of the projects that dropped on fx(hash) to find the strongest, most compelling work — generative art that has a unique voice, a wide variety across its many mints, and an intriguing approach to algorithms and technique.