About me
My name is Matthijs Keuper, I live in the Netherlands and split my time between engineering and art.
I often wonder whether I have the right to call myself an artist, or if I'm merely an engineer experimenting with technology and creating things I enjoy. This is my journey; I'll let you decide.
1990: art & technology
My initial active involvement with with art began in 1990 during my Applied Physics studies at Twente University in the Netherlands. An announcement for an Art+Technology project caught my eye—a collaboration with the local Art Academy titled "The Art of Flying." Under the guidance of an art teacher and with workshops from aerospace engineers and artists like Panamarenko, six art academy students and two technical university students embarked on an 18-month journey to create flying objects.
The contrast between the intuitive, creative approach of the art students and the more fact-based, technical mindset of the tech students fascinated me. This project culminated in an exhibition, and, reminiscent of the Wright brothers' attempts at flight, with our group running across a grassy field trying to launch our contraptions. Though our objects didn’t quite take off, the experience was invaluable. However, I wouldn't return to art for another 20 years, focusing instead on my tech career and family.
“Flying Eyes”, Aluminum, wood, nylon fabric 1991
2012: Hand-made generative art
In 2012, my wife and I bought an easel, canvas, some acrylic paint, and brushes, simply to experiment and see if painting was enjoyable. Unsure of what to create, I began by placing random dots on the canvas and connecting them with lines.
I would then stare at it for hours, rotating the canvas occasionally, trying to "see something."
In the end, this is what I made of it:
“Jump”, acrylic on canvas, 2012
I was fascinated by the process: I did not plan to paint a guy jumping into the water next to a tree. Yet, I did paint it. Who’s idea was it then?
Another painting from this period using the same process:
“Show-off”, acrylic on canvas, 2012
At that time I was completely unaware of the concept of generative art. These were my initial steps toward it, although it would be years before I made more progress.
2021: Generative puzzles
After a career in LED lighting, in 2021 my wife and I started a company to create laser-cut generative wooden puzzles. I had built a laser-cutter at home, was playing with it and many people told me “you should do more with this!”. It was the start of the Covid crisis, lockdowns all around, my lighting company was doing badly and my wife’s acting jobs were canceled as well. So we started a new business. Inspired by reaction-diffusion patterns, I began learning JavaScript and GLSL (shader code). I had been programming before, but only for practical use in my Lighting business, programming microcontrollers and such. The puzzle designs were made using a combination of algorithms and some manual tweaking and with the help of my laser cutter, the designs were turned into tangible birch plywood products. Generative art, assembly required.
“Cat”, birch plywood, 2021
2021: Flow and erosion simulations
Customers soon requested colored, printed puzzles, prompting me to seek algorithms for creating colorful patterns. This quest ignited my exploration into generative art. I started experimenting with a fluid simulation and found that fascinating. You can set boundaries, define parameters but can’t control things in detail.
“Counterforce”, Hic et Nunc, 2021
In 2021, during a summer holiday on the beach, I was mesmerized by the patterns in the sand. And I started wondering, could I recreate these using code?
2021, "Sand" photograph
So I started modifying the fluid simulation to add erosion. Putting that into a three.js renderer and adding lighting and shadows resulted in interesting results really fast. I minted my first NFT’s on the Tezos network later that year.
“Exoplanet Draugr #009”, erosion simulation, Objkt.com, 2021
Detail of “Exoplanet Draugr #011”, erosion simulation, Objkt.com, 2021
The exploration of this erosion simulation has led me through a large number of variants; I rewrote the code many times, going from an initial implementation in three.js to a completely home-built webGL framework with vertex shader and later a path tracer, while in the meantime figuring out what would be an interesting form and style for realizing a long-form project. But, due to the chaotic nature of the flow and erosion process, it is a huge technical challenge and I have not released anything so far. But I enjoy playing with this and I will continue to explore it, as the landscape sculpting takes place in real-time and is mesmerizing to watch.
Untitled, unreleased, 2023
Untitled, unreleased ,2023
Untitled, unreleased, 2024
Untitled, unreleased, 2024
Expanding my knowledge
I was invited into the illustrious genartclub (thanks Piter!), where I learned about algorithms, releases, techniques, and palettes. Some experiments with other algorithms led to my first generative projects, released on fx(hash).
Linea (non) Recta. FxHash, sept 2022
Apart from these releases, there are a number of generative projects that I developed up to different levels and created cool outputs but that I never finished or released as a generative work. Often because I wasn’t sure (and still am not) about the form. My initial focus was on long form projects,; but developing it can be a very tedious task. I absolutely enjoy the initial stages of a project, where you get inspired and surprised by results and amazed by the unlimited supply of results. But turning it into a long-form project where every output is near perfect and there are no bad outputs, can be a really tedious task that becomes quite technical and does not give me much joy. So that caused me to abandon some projects. Other forms, such as curating outputs means that there are many beautiful results that will never see the light of day. And that is a shame too! So when it comes to generative, digital works, I still have to find the form that suits me best.
“Trajectories 000”, 2023, unreleased
“Subdivisions 000 ”, 2024, unreleased
Back to making physical works
In 2023 we ceased our puzzle business and I returned to my LED lighting career but felt a pull to create art with my laser cutting and engraving machine. I am a tactile person, always love to touch, hold, feel texture, and as nice as digital works are, they can’t give you that.
I started to write code to transform photos into generative vector drawings for engraving into wood. The density of the lines changes with the brightness of the image and the direction of the lines loosely follow the brightness and color gradients. Using some software knobs I can tune the process to create different styles.
The Linea series of woodcut portraits emerged from this work. I start with AI-generated portraits, convert them into line drawings, and engrave them into black wood. Using custom-made oil paint, I fill the grooves and wash away the excess, resulting in portraits that appear photorealistic from a distance but resemble a disorganized jumble of spaghetti up close.
I love the fact that these works require not just code and machining but also some (tedious) manual labor.
“Evelyn”, detail, oil paint on black MDF, 2023
“Chris”, oil paint on black MDF, 2023
My next step in the development of this technique will be to create colored physical works as well. I am currently busy turning a 6-axis robot into a painting machine that will dispense (in a yet to determined way) acrylic paint on a canvas. It’s nice to combine various skills there: software and hardware development, in combination with creative coding and physical art.
Nuages Alpins #12, Foundation, 2023
Palette of Dreams, Foundation, 2023
I don't know where this journey will take me. I make art part-time, which means I don’t need to make a living from it and enjoy total freedom in what I can do. I have no preset plans, other than to continue to push the erosion simulations and also work on the painting robot. But mostly looking for the pleasure of creating beautiful stuff with technology, learning new things, challenging myself. I will continue to experiment and follow where the code and machines lead me.
Matthijs Keuper
July 2024