Driven by a deep interest in the philosophy of technology, Harm van den Dorpel’s work transcends medium and has pushed the art world forward in many instances, especially as it relates to the appreciation of digital art. One of the first artists to create and sell on-chain artwork in 2015, well before the advent of NFTs as we know them today, Harm challenges us to understand and interrogate the systems we exist within Over the past two decades, he has pushed the limits of what’s possible with generative art, creating pieces that explore concepts of randomness,creative control, language and art. 

Originally from the Netherlands, and currently based in Berlin, Harm began programming and making digital art at the age of 11. His work has been shown all over the world in gallery exhibitions and in public museums. In 2022 alone, his work has been shown in exhibitions in Tokyo, Potsdam, New York, and Munich. 

Throughout his career, he’s explored the ways that the internet and technology shape our creative potential. He enjoys the random, unpredictable nature of generative art, often choosing to start without a complete plan and then “tame the chaos” to complete the final piece. Rather than using fully random algorithms, he often uses genetic algorithms or other very specific forms of code to create a more controlled version of generative art. 

Harm created his first on-chain piece in 2015, when he made a MacOS screensaver stored on the blockchain with Bitcoin. Later that year, the Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna purchased his on-chain screensaver “Event Listeners”, making them the first museum in the world to purchase an on-chain piece of art. He later migrated the piece to Ethereum.