"Tessellate" by RalenArc

RalenArc is a generative artist and educator based in New Jersey, creating with both physical and digital mediums. She has worked with murals, clay art, painting, and code. Her work is characterized by vibrant colors and intricate patterns, seamlessly integrating her traditional artistry with code-based techniques. RalenArc holds a strong commitment to education, actively working in the non-profit sector to impart art skills to students. Her artwork has been shown at On Water in New York City and Bright Moments galleries in Venice Beach, Berlin, NYC, and London.

“Tessellate" is an embodiment of geometric precision and repetition, with each distinctive patch reflecting its unique color and texture, and together contributing to a larger design. This work showcases the harmony possible within diversity.

RalenArc uses code to combine textures from two distinct art forms: the fluidity of watercolor and the meticulous structuring of patchwork. The organic blending of watercolors is recreated to contribute hazy dream-like palettes, building on layers to evoke the viewer’s memories. Like Boro quilts, a traditional Japanese art form dating to the 17th century, the work ties together various patches in rectangular forms with rough edges. The interplay between colors, shapes, and textures is a key aspect of this work, adding depth while enhancing the natural realism.

One of the patch fills is reminiscent of the famous 10 PRINT program, a one-line piece of code written in BASIC for the Commodore 64 computer. The program prints alternating forward slashes (/) and backslashes () to create a generative maze in the terminal. This is one of the earliest accessible generative art programs that permeated personal computing in the 1980s.

The combination of references from code, watercolor, and fabric result in singular dream-like compositions building on RalenArc’s extensive experience with traditional media.