Dmitri Cherniak

2022

The difference between the subtleties and the subtle ties

Boundaries under pressure

The difference between the subtleties and the subtle ties uses a spring-based physics simulation to push and deform boundaries. Polygon offsetting traces successive contours around those forms, producing a dense field of lines and colored divisions.

The algorithm was constructed to explore aspects of biological cell division. Its crowded shapes suggest growth and separation, while the repeated contours connect individual forms to the pressure of the surrounding field.

Rendered in the browser in September 2021 and minted in 2022, the unique work was presented with a signed print in Sotheby’s Natively Digital 1.3: Generative Art.

Year
2022
Edition
1/1
Medium
SVG and signed giclée print
Print
44 × 44 in. (111.8 × 111.8 cm)
An intricate field of curving black contours and red, yellow, blue, and green shapes.
The difference between the subtleties and the subtle ties, 2022.

The print and exhibition

Photographs

The framed print illuminated on a dark gallery wall at Sotheby’s.
The print at Sotheby’s Natively Digital 1.3: Generative Art, 2022.
A front-facing view of the complete print in a dark wooden frame with a white mat.
The difference between the subtleties and the subtle ties. Framed print.
A close-up of rippling black contours surrounding pink, green, yellow, and orange forms in the print.
The difference between the subtleties and the subtle ties. Print detail.
A wide view of the Sotheby’s exhibition, with the framed print displayed among other artworks.
Natively Digital 1.3: Generative Art, Sotheby’s, 2022.