With every aspect of our lives being affected by technology, from the way we shop, consume television, meet people, and do business, it is no wonder that digital art has risen in prominence over the past decade.

The staggering advances in technology and how digital artists apply it to their works has created a global following in digital art, away from the stuffy auction houses of Europe – allowing digital art to be enjoyed almost anywhere around the world.

There are those who are pioneering digital art such as Manfred Mohr, who back in 1969 when most people didn’t even have a computer, “programmed his first computer drawings in 1969 and has been creating art with the computer only, developing and writing algorithms for his visual ideas”.

Today it is far more complex thanks to the level of sophistication offered from PC & Apple computers, with illustration pads, customized software, and an endless supply of ‘out of the box’ software, available for download anywhere. For many, creating art and teaching yourself to do so has become more accessible to all.

Here are four digital artists who are creating waves in the art world:

  • teamLab, Japanese tech-art collective, is an interdisciplinary group of various specialists such as artists, programmers, engineers, CG animators, mathematicians and architects whose collaborative practice seeks to navigate the confluence of art, science, technology, and the natural world. They are known for “Future World”, Singapore’s largest permanent digital art gallery housed in ArtScience Museum, which has brought more than a million visitors since its unveiling 3 years ago.
  • Eugene Soh, better recognized as DUDE (b. 1987) is a tech artist. Eugene is the founder of Dude Studios (dude.sg), a creative tech studio focusing on Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality, and Mind Palace (mindpalacevr.org), a social enterprise that uses VR to help dementia patients and nursing home residents revisit fond places and explore the world from the comfort and safety of their chairs, keeping their minds active and slowing the effects of dementia. His accidental journey of becoming an artist was jolted by his photographic piece, contextualizing Da Vinci’s Last Supper in a local hawker centre setting, that went viral on social media in 2012. That discovery, with its tongue-in-cheek commentary on contemporary life in Singapore, catapulted him into the art world.
  • Andre Wee, virtual reality artist and illustrator creates works that are motivated by combining things together – in this case art and technology.  Over the years, Wee has chalked up a reputable name for his digital drawings on various platforms such as Tumblr, Instagram, Facebook. Most recently, his digital drawings for Meshminds 2.0 exhibition titled ‘A Better Tomorrow’ are showcased at the ArtScience Museum. It offers an augmented reality (AR) experience where visitors can watch how landscapes come to life using greener ways in an animation when they scan the QR codes on their smartphone devices.
  • Justine Emard, is a French visual artist whose work explores the new relationships that are being established between our lives and technology. By combining different image medias – from photography to video and virtual reality – she situates her work at the crossroads between robotics, objects, live 3D prints, organic life and artificial intelligence. She is highly considered for her thoughtfulness in her video installations ‘Co(AI)xistence’, ‘Human Learning’, and ‘Soul Shift’.

Digital art like classical or traditional art has as many forms, styles and genres that appeal to almost every generation. Digital artists have also been featured in anything from children’s computer games, popular culture magazines to political campaigns.

Where the brush and canvas is only limited by the imagination and skills of the artist that wields them, digital art has another dimension – that of the computer or machine that aids in the discovery, iteration and creation of works that could define our generation.

 If you are looking at digital art works, or sourcing for art as an investment, qualified consultants at Art Works are experienced in assisting clients make informed decisions on art and artists that can help to diversify your investment portfolios that look far more attractive than a ‘promissory note’ on your wall.

Contact the Art Works team today to begin or continue your journey into the world of digital or contemporary world of art.