Jeffrey Ventrella

Ventrella.com     Vimeo     Wikipedia

Lori Austin Gallery, The Barlow, Sebastopol, CA

Organic Algorithm Series [from mind to code to form]

These artworks were generated entirely using code that I wrote myself from scratch. After spending my formative years painting and drawing, I turned to writing software as a medium to express visual ideas in algorithmic form. My techniques have been under development for over 25 years, and they are still evolving. As a young boy, I could often be found in the woods, exploring tiny forms of life on the ground, or catching the view from any tree I could climb. I consistently failed math in school, including in college. But then I discovered the algorithmic beauty of nature through code, which I consider as poetry in motion. This became the ideal tool for my internal vision and creative process. When people ask me how long it takes to make one of these images, my reply is: it depends: when I run the code, an image can take a few minutes or at most an hour to reach a point where I am satisfied with the level of detail. But the underlying software is really what represents the time spent on this work. It has been developed, worked-over, and refined over many years. An algorithm is a mental process. It is stored intuitively and multi-dimensionally in human memory. And it is stored precisely and one-dimensionally in computer memory. The result of these algorithms - coming into formation together - can be a sensual object. These images are printed on archival paper, canvas, and metal, and optionally mounted, and framed behind glass. Each piece is signed. For selected works, limited edition is insured by permanently deleting the parameters and image files after printing. Larger works are in development. Being based on fractal geometry, these images can be rendered at arbitrarily high resolutions. The ultimate goal is to have a body of work that creates a bold experience when stepping back and seeing it on a large wall, and an intimate experience when looking from a distance of only a few inches.

O'Hanlon Center for the Arts, Mill Valley, California

book cover for Wolf Ridge Press

#172

#140

#21

#7

I have always had a passion for natural pattern and biological form. For much of my life I have been dedicated to discovering fundamental mathematical representations and algorithmic process in nature. I see these processes as the basis for all emergent complex form in the world - including ourselves. Interpreting the underlying algorithms of nature - studying evolution and the science of emergence - I am continually refining my voice as an artist. All living form is determined by both genes and environment. It's a Byzantine tangle with no clear origin. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Answer: chickens were invented by eggs as a way to make more eggs. My evolving software code cannot be easily separated from my artistic process. Software is an artist's medium. It is also a cognitive technology. It can grow at night when I'm half-awake. This artistic process is enriched as I feed the soil in my garden with compost. The soil continually rewards me with amazing botanical wonders. My software is like soil. I have been feeding it compost from my mind for over twenty-five years. I am now exposing the detailed expressions that grow from this soil - in high resolution.

All images rendered at 12000x12000 pixel resolution = 40x40 inches at 300dpi. Artwork available as prints of any size up to 40 inches per side, on archival paper, canvas, or metal. Mounting and framing optional. For inquiries, contact: jeffrey@ventrella.com or call (707) 364-5673.

#4

#5

#6