I’ve always been fascinated by the creative possibilities of working with computers.
From the moment I plugged in a Sinclair ZX81 and a cursor blinked back at me, inviting me to type something to the generative systems I now build to “make a thing which makes a thing” the curiosity has only increased.
It’s through working with these machines — these code based collaborators — that I can put into the world my thoughts and ideas exploring our relationship and interactions with the analog and digital.
Demanding participation, Brendan Dawes’ artistic practice harnesses time as medium in his explorations of the surrounding world.
By means of code, data, and generative systems, Dawes’ interest in human connection is revealed across electronic objects, screens, physical sculpture and interactive installation. Much of the artist’s work instigates dialogue.
Take real-time generative work You, Me, and the Machine (2022) – created for the Herbert W. Franke Tribute – which morphs its appearance in relation to a viewer’s proximity, or Passengers BCN (2023) – created for Digital Impact, Barcelona – which responds to official passenger data from Barcelona airport during COVID and gives sculptural form to the relationship between digital and physical.
An openness to collective authorship gives Dawes’ conceptual approach a tangible accessibility and a playful edge, which serves to interrogate the rigidity and revelations of data.
A Lumen Prize and Aesthetica Art prize Alumni, his work has been featured in many exhibitions across the world including Big Bang Data in thirteen cities, three MoMA shows in New York, Brighton Digital Festival, ArtFutura and ZKM. His Cinema Redux work became part of the MoMA permanent collection in 2008.
His work has been auctioned at Sotheby’s Natively Digital: A Curated NFT Sale, The Burnt Auction – the first NFT sale offered by an auction house in France with Fauve Paris and Generative Art and The Future an art exhibition in Shenzhen hosted by China’s largest auction house, Beijing Poly.
He is represented in the UK and Europe by Gazelli Art House.
Selected Solo Shows
- Moments Spent with Others, Gazellio, London, UK, 2022
- Somewhere Amongst The Trees, Dog & Pony, Munich, Germany, 2015
- Dot Dot Dot, SIA, Sheffield, UK, 2014
- Cinema Redux, Richard Goodall Gallery, Manchester, UK, 2012
Selected Group Shows
- Gen/Gen: Generative Generations, Gazelli Art House, London, 2023
- Cartography of the Soul, Christies 3.0, 2023
- Digital Impact, Disseny Hub, Barcelona, Spain, 2023
- Photofairs, Shanghai, China, 2023
- Factory : Première !, NFT Factory, Paris, France, 2022
- IN TOUCH: Art in the Age of Post-NFTism, dekabinett, Berlin, Germany, 2022
- Ghost in the Machine, SuperRare Gallery, New York, USA, 2022
- Proof of People, Fabric, London, UK, 2022
- Cartography of the Mind, Christies, New York, USA, 2022
- Yongle Auction House, Beijing, China, 2022
- The Burnt Auction, Fauve Paris, Paris, France, 2022
- Art & NFTs: The Digital Roots, LA Frieze, Los Angeles, USA, 2022
- Transformations, Unit London, London, UK, 2021
- Guangzhou Art and Culture Expo , Beijing, China, 2021
- American Express Platinum Lounge, The Miami Beach Edition at Art Basel, Miami, USA, 2021
- DCentralCon, Miami, USA, 2021
- Shenzhen NFT Art Week, Shenzhen, China, 2021
- CAFA Global NFT Art Season, Shanghai, China, 2021
- Generative Art and the Future, Poly Auction, Shenzen, China, 2021
- NFTism, Unit London, London, UK, 2021
- Natively Digital, Sotheby's, London, UK, 2021
- .ext, Gazelli Art House, London, UK, 2021
- Renaissance 2.0, Rome, Italy, 2020
- Art Futura 2020, Europe and North America, USA, 2020
- Brighton Digital Festival, Brighton, UK, 2019
- ZKM Season of Media Arts 2019, Germany, 2019
- Big Bang Data, Artscience Museum, Singapore, 2016
- Big Bang Data, Espacio Fundación Telefónica, Santiago, Chile, 2016
- Impression 3D, Le Lieu Du Design, Paris, France, 2016
- Big Bang Data, Somerset House, London, UK, 2015
- _remanufactum, Szczecin, 2015
- Designing with Data, Hyundai Card Design Library + MoMA, Seoul, South Korea, 2015
- Big Bang Data, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2015
- Big Bang Data, CCCB, Madrid, Spain, 2015
- Designer Data, National Centre for Craft and Design, Lincolnshire, UK, 2014
- Big Bang Data, CCCB, Barcelona, Spain, 2014
- Fieldguide, London Design Festival, London, UK, 2012
- Talk to Me, MoMA, New York, USA, 2010
- Action! Design Over Time, MoMA, New York, USA, 2010
- Design and the Elastic Mind, MoMA, New York, USA, 2008
Publications
- On NFTs / Taschen / 2024
- Digital Design: a History / Princeton University Press / 2023
- CryptoArt Begins / Rizzoli illustrati / 2022
- The Age of Data / Braun Publishing / 2021
- HAS Magazine 01 / Unesco / 2020
- The Book of Circles / Princeton Architectural Press / 2017
- Thoughts on Information Design / Lars Muller Publishing / 2014
- Infographics - Designing and Visualising Data / Promopress / 2014
- Play Matters / MIT Press / 2014
- Talk to Me / MoMA / 2010
- Design and the Elastic Mind / MoMA / 2008
- Graphic Design: The New Basics / Princeton Architectural Press / 2008
- Small Tech: The Culture of Digital Tools (Electronic Mediations) / University Of Minnesota Press / 2008
- Analog In, Digital Out / New Riders / 2006
- The Digital Canvas / Abrams Studio / 2006
- Personal Web Sites / Rockport / 2002
- Drag Slide Fade / New Riders / 2001
- In Your Face Too - the best of interactive interface design / Rockport / 2000
- New Masters of Flash / Friends of Ed / 2000
- Flash deConstruction: The Process, Design, and ActionScript of Juxt Interactive / New Riders / 2000
Coverage
- Sundance 2024: Generative AI Changes Brian Eno Documentary With Every View Forbes
- The Future of Filmmaking Panel Charts the French New Wave to A.I. IndieWire
- Uncovering new histories of human-machine interaction Right Click Save
- Gazelli exhibition takes us into the new dimension of digital art Wallpaper Magazine
- Brendan Dawes on AI and Creativity Chance Operations
- Artist-Centered Cybersecurity Outland
- 2022 in Review: Artists on NFTs Outland
- In Conversation with Rachel Falconer Gazelli Art House
- Brendan Dawes and the Art of Lost Time Right Click Save
- Meet Brendan Dawes, NFT Collector WhaleShark’s Favourite Digital Artist Tatler
- Brendan Dawes Sparks Thought and Imagination Through A Data-Driven Practice Artplugged
- Generative Art: The Artists Defining the Space Ledger
- Brendan Dawes on NFTs and Staying Curious Danielle Newnham Podcast
- Interview on Kait Borsay show Times Radio
- Buyers splash out on art that doesn’t exist The Times
- How cryptoart is turning creators into millionaires ITV News
- The Bitcoin Elite are Spending Millions on Collectable Memes Wired
- 3 Examples of Data Viz at the Boundary of Tech and Reality Infogr8
- Brendan Dawes's Seven Rules of Creativity Magenta
- Artist Fireside chat with Brendan Dawes
- The Science of Fine Art with Brendan Dawes Makersplace
- Beyond Work Danielle Newnham
- Interview on the This is HCD podcast
- Beyond The Chart Data Stories
- Data Stream Day BBC Radio 4
- Stories hidden in Data Creative Bloq
- Audio interview for Lecture in Progress
- An iOS App That Freezes Moments - A Chat With Kennedy's Brendan Dawes Forbes
- Artist Brendan Dawes selects his top 5 sources of inspiration Somerset House
- Brendan Dawes Sharing Your Work Make
- The Age of Hard and Soft Interview With Designer Brendan Dawes On Six Monkeys Image Source
- Visualizing Data With 3D Printing A Chat With Brendan Dawes Forbes