流れのパターン / Patterns of Flow
Patterns of Flow celebrates the work of a new generation of Japanese artists working with code. Channeling the experimental aesthetics of computer art pioneer Hiroshi Kawano and continuing the global conversation started by curator and writer Jasia Reichardt in the 1960s, this exhibition explores the power of generative systems to capture a world in flux. Led by Shunsuke Takawo, who inspires the Processing community in Japan with daily coding, Patterns of Flow is a collaboration with Right Click Save and Massage Magazine, hosted on Feral File and at NEORT++ in downtown Tokyo.
Artworks
Synergistic Metropolis
View artwork"Synergistic Metropolis" created by Saeko Ehara for "Patterns of Flow" exhibition.
変化・循環・その間の形 / Changes, Cycles, and Shapes in Between
View artwork"変化・循環・その間の形 / Changes, Cycles, and Shapes in Between" created by mole^3 for "Patterns of Flow" exhibition.
響く残響 / Resonant Echo
View artwork"響く残響 / Resonant Echo" created by Okazz for "Patterns of Flow" exhibition.
Flows of Pattern
View artwork"Flows of Pattern" created by Shunsuke Takawo for "Patterns of Flow" exhibition.
Path of Tones
View artwork"Path of Tones" created by Kaoru Tanaka for "Patterns of Flow" exhibition.
Sea of Code
View artwork"Sea of Code" created by Kazuhiro Tanimoto for "Patterns of Flow" exhibition.
Artists
Shunsuke Takawo
Shunsuke Takawo was born in 1981 in Kumamoto Prefecture. He received his M.F.A. from the Institute of Advanced Media Arts and Sciences in 2008. He is a member of Processing Community Japan and one of the Selection Members for the 25th Japan Media Arts Festival’s Art Division. He is also a college professor at the Department of Creative Media Studies at Konan Women’s University. In April 2022, he established the Japan Generative Art Foundation (JGAF) and became its representative director.
Satoshi Aizawa
Satoshi Aizawa is a generative artist interested in the beauty that can be found in autonomous systems and algorithms. In order to express this beauty in its purest form, his works often have a minimalist appearance and mechanism. They are characterized by the removal, as much as possible, of higher-dimensional meanings related to humanity and culture. Communication with the work is made possible through the primitive cognition that being human affords. Aizawa’s best-known work is his Path series, comprising looped animations in which lines draw shapes, originally released on Hic Et Nunc.
Saeko Ehara
Saeko Ehara is a kira-kira (“sparkling”) artist and VJ based in Tokyo whose recent works explore the combination of AI with generative art. Her inspiration derives from the joys and memories of her childhood. She developed a love of drawing at an early age, collecting kira-kira cards of her favorite anime, as well as stickers, toys, acrylic jewels, small glassworks, and illustrated books of flowers. Her work has been exhibited globally, including at dialog(), Tokyo (2024); Vivid Sydney (2024); Bright Moments Tokyo (2023); Solo exhibition at Theatre of Digital Art, Dubai (2023); and Noor Riyadh (2022).
mole^3
mole^3 is a printmaker and visual artist who creates works using open data, images, sound, and generative art, as well as woodblock prints. She views coding as a form of printmaking and on-screen outputs the equivalent of physical prints. In this way, her work develops an expanded understanding of printmaking. Her work has been exhibited at the Sompo Museum of Art and the NTT InterCommunication Centre [ICC] in Tokyo, as well as in collaboration with the Yamaguchi Center for Arts and Media [YCAM].
Misaki Nakano
Misaki Nakano has been working as a WebGL developer since 2016, and is currently part of the GitHub branding team. She is responsible for implementing WebGL for corporate branding sites, simulations, and data visualization. As an artist, she has collaborated with Sputniko! as well as with the virtual human imma for Bright Moments in London and New York.
Okazz
Okazz is a Japanese generative artist and creative coder who uses p5.js in the production of his work. Inspired by Japanese anime and manga subcultures, he is best-known for designing KUMALEON, a character-based project that combines generative art and PFPs. He has exhibited at Bright Moments, dialog(), and NOX Gallery, Tokyo.
Senbaku
Senbaku is a creative coder and generative artist based in Japan with a background in folklore studies. She uses p5.js to depict city dwellers as sheet ghosts, creating works themed around their diverse inner lives. In 2021, she released NFT works using function draw() and OpenProcessing’s Crayon Codes and has since exhibited with KUMALEON and as part of Proof of X — Blockchain As A New Medium For Art (2023).
Kaoru Tanaka
Kaoru Tanaka is a Japanese generative artist whose work is inspired by nature, daily life, and dreams. Having started out producing design work using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, her experience of the artworks of John Maeda sparked an interest in creating art through programming. She has since produced work using both Processing and TouchDesigner. Most recently, she created 600 works for Shiseido’s digital art collection, Future Reflections, at Miami Beach, Florida, and exhibited at FEMGEN in Marfa, Texas. Tanaka’s commercial art commissions have included a custom exterior wrap for the new INFINITI QX80.
Kazuhiro Tanimoto
Kazuhiro Tanimoto is a generative artist and chemist involved in material research and development. He uses the unique computational capabilities of computers to develop expressions that integrate physical and digital material, permanence and transience, and science and art. With a special focus on audio-visual expressions created with code, he depicts themes related to technology, nature, and the human mind. He has a PhD in engineering from Kansai University, and regards scientific research and art-making as intimately related activities. He has exhibited globally, including at the VA HUB, Taipei; NFT Rio, Rio de Janeiro; Art Blocks Gallery, Marfa; Tokyo International Forum, Tokyo; Arizona State University; Arroz Estúdios, Lisbon; and as part of The 21st Japan Media Arts Festival, Tokyo.
ykxotkx
ykxotkx is a creative coder and software developer based in Japan. His generative artworks rely on the meticulous depiction of motifs and scenes from the natural (and sometimes supernatural) world. He is especially focused on exploring painterly expression through code. His work has been exhibited internationally, including at Bright Moments Tokyo (2023), Nishikigoi NFT (2023), Unblock Gaudi (2022), and Art Basel Miami Beach (2022).