Tyler Hobbs

In spring 2023, Hobbs will become the first artist outside Pace’s program to present an in-person exhibition of an NFT project at one of its global locations, underscoring the gallery’s support of cutting-edge work in web3.

While any individual can engage with the algorithm on the project’s online platform, which serves as a space for intuitive play, only those with a QQL mint pass will be able to mint NFTs of their own outputs. As such, the project gives collectors creative agency over the content and aesthetic qualities of their QQL NFTs.

Though all QQL NFTs will be united by a curated color palette, recurring shapes, and other repetitions, collectors can use a vast range of tools to create a resonant and personal artwork. The QQL project’s algorithm produces visual effects, forms, and moods across a wide spectrum, from minimal to maximal and contemplative to exuberant. Density, flow, and scale are among the mutable attributes that collectors can manipulate to explore these formal possibilities.

Winners of a special contest surrounding the QQL project were announced on September 27. Open to the public, the competition focused on outputs created using the QQL algorithm. Three anonymous judges selected a total of nine winners, each of whom received a QQL mint pass. Hobbs and Wist personally curated the three grand prize winners, who will see their exact contest entries immortalized as QQLs #7, #8, and #9.

Next year, Pace Gallery in New York will present an in-person exhibition of large-scale paintings depicting QQL outputs minted and curated by Hobbs himself, organized under the banner of Pace Verso, the gallery’s web3 hub. This presentation will continue Pace’s efforts to mount physical showcases of NFTs at its international galleries as well as global art fairs, bringing web3 projects to its wide audience. Since the launch of Pace Verso in 2021, the gallery has presented NFTs at its New York, Seoul, Los Angeles, and Palm Beach spaces. In addition, Pace has exhibited NFTs at Art Basel Miami Beach 2021, Art Basel 2022, Art Basel Hong Kong 2022, and Frieze Los Angeles 2022.

Hobbs, who is known for his virtuosic work in computational aesthetics, develops custom algorithms that generate imagery. One of his most acclaimed projects is Fidenza, which was presented on the generative art platform Art Blocks, a partner of Pace Verso since 2022. Hobbs, who studied Computer Science at the University of Texas, Austin, has exhibited at NFT.NYC; Art Dubai; the Seattle Art Fair; Bright Moments Gallery in New York; Unit London; and other international events and venues. His work has figured in auctions by Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and Phillips.

Marc Glimcher, CEO and President of Pace Gallery, says:
“Tyler Hobbs has made a name for himself as one of the most boundary-pushing artists in web3. His explorations of the phenomenological possibilities of abstraction—including his acclaimed project Fidenza—align with our legacy as a champion of artists like Sol LeWitt and Agnes Martin. Using algorithmic tools to produce dynamic, energetic compositions, Tyler has played a major role in the history and development of generative art as we know it today. We’re thrilled to share his latest project with our audience through this upcoming exhibition in New York, and we look forward to future collaborations with Tyler.”