10 Digital Artists: The Best of Glitch Art
Glitch art is a genre of digital art that involves intentionally introducing errors or glitches into digital files or systems to create aesthetic effects.
These glitches can include visual distortions, pixelation, color shifts, or unexpected patterns, resulting from the manipulation of digital data. Artists might corrupt image or video files, use coding errors, or exploit software bugs to produce these effects.
Glitch art is all about embracing the flaws and surprises that come from technological failures or manipulations, and further creating imperfections for unexpected results.
It challenges traditional notions of perfection in art, instead celebrating the beauty of randomness and imperfection.
We’ve created a list of digital artists who incorporate glitch aesthetic into their work, exploring themes like control, chaos, and the inherent fragility of digital media, contributing their unique approach to the relationship between technology and art.
Whether you are an artist looking for inspiration, a curator working on an exhibition, or a digital arts fan looking to discover digital artists, this list is for you.
Here is 10 of the talented digital artists who are creating the best of glitch art.
Scroll the learn more about them! Here’s the featured artists:King XeroXClayton CampbellEmpress TrashMatt KaneAdrian CainDawnia DarkstoneMax OsirisJennifer Juniper StratfordNeurocolorKate the CursedLet's be friends on Instagram!
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King XeroX is a glitch artist and architect known for his unique animated GIF art. His work, auctioned on prestigious platforms like Sotheby's, focuses on themes around religious rituals, death, and the afterlife. Through his art, King XeroX uses glitch effects to create captivating and thought-provoking images that explore these deep subjects.
In his series Kings and Demons, King XeroX presents a collection of images that highlight the connections between power, spirituality, and mortality. Each piece is carefully crafted to tell a story about these complex themes, offering viewers a unique perspective on the intersection of technology and the human experience.
Clayton Campbell is an artist and cultural producer based in Philadelphia, U.S., known for his diverse practice that spans visual productions, digital art, arts writing, stage design, curating, arts administration, and artist residency programming. His work responds to the profound creative, spiritual, social, technological, and environmental changes of our time, focusing on the behavior of people in extraordinary circumstances. Campbell's experiences in unexpected and challenging situations have shaped his values, particularly his commitment to non-violence, which profoundly influences his artistic expression.
In his art, Campbell explores themes such as faith and loss of faith, the numinous in nature, human sensuality and impermanence, the dystopian specter of nuclear technology, and the complex interplay between perfection, delusion, and mortality. He believes in the power of peace and reconciliation as vital and artistic human actions, and this philosophy permeates his work. Through his art, Campbell seeks to engage in a process of reciprocity, exchanging knowledge, emotions, and experiences, and striving to make a positive impact on others.
Campbell’s most recent art book featuring stunning glitch art is published by a foreword by yours truly, and you can get your copy here.
Read our interview with Clayton Campbell to learn more about his art, inspirations, and creative process.
Drea Jay, better known as Empress Trash in digital arts world, makes “art and mistakes.” She holds a BFA degree in Painting, Drawing, and Animation/Design from the University of Iowa and is currently based in Mexico City. She started creating art in Web3 in 2021, and since then her work has been exhibited worldwide including at Sotheby's, Miami Art Basel, and SXSW.
Empress Trash is best known for her use of glitch and AI to create abstract, surreal, and psychedelic art. Her journey of self-acceptance and self-discovery is reflected in her process-oriented art, which has been a significant coping mechanism for the childhood trauma she suffered.
Empress Trash is also featured in 10 Digital Artists: Human meets AI to expand creativity
Matt Kane is a pioneering artist and programmer, celebrated for his innovative use of code and computing to create intricate, multi-layered artworks. Utilizing custom-designed software, Kane leverages generative algorithms to reinterpret historical aesthetics with the precision of modern technology. His work aims to achieve what the Old Masters did with oils, but through the medium of code.
A native of Chicago, Kane began his art practice with oil painting and later took a decade-long hiatus to work as a web developer in the Pacific Northwest, where he taught himself programming. In 2020, his NFT artwork that changes every day with the bitcoin price volatility called Right Place & Right Time was sold for a record 262 ETH ($101,100) on the blockchain marketplace Async Art, making him a leading figure in the crypto art space.
His work “Crown of Flowers after Bouguereau” was recently featured in the exhibition, A Digital Transcendence: The Intersection of Art and Tech, by SuperRare.
Adrian Cain, known artistically as Drain, is a digital and analog glitch artist based in Northwest Arkansas, US. Specializing in glitch art, Drain uses tools like Blender, Processing, and Audacity to create his unique works. He started glitching selfies using WordPad in 2015, exploring the beauty in errors, broken file formats, and artifacts of digital decay and destruction. Through sonification and glitch techniques, Drain transforms these digital leftovers into new, thought-provoking pieces.
Drain's art often explores abstract and figurative depictions, capturing memories, thoughts, and emotions in a visually striking way. His work is characterized by its experimental nature, embracing imperfections and the unexpected results of digital manipulation.
“Glitch is a medium.”
Dawnia Darkstone, also known as Letsglitchit, is a prominent glitch artist with nearly a decade of experience in brute force, non-coding-based glitch art. As a co-administrator and curator of the Glitch Artists Collective and affiliated groups on Facebook, Dawnia has played a significant role in fostering the glitch art community. Dawnia is well-regarded in the glitch art community for her pioneering digital glitch techniques and for sharing her knowledge through tutorials and notes on her Tumblr.
Her work, which often incorporates sonification techniques, has been exhibited in major cities such as London, Paris, Zagreb, San Francisco, Minneapolis, and Tokyo, and has been featured in Vice Magazine. She has been curated onto platforms like SuperRare, MakersPlace, and KnownOrigin, with her SuperRare Genesis piece "Liquid Codex" being showcased at the SuperRare gallery in Soho, on billboards in Times Square and Tokyo, and in exhibitions at Koko London and Miami Art Basel.
Max Osiris is an innovative artist and crypto art pioneer, known for his works that combine psychedelic research and AI. Born in Lithuania during Soviet occupation, Max moved to Florida after escaping the USSR and later became deeply involved in the digital art world. He emerged as a key figure in the crypto art scene, organizing the first Crypto Art Show in Los Angeles in 2019. Since then, Max has gained a reputation for his bold, unconventional works and his efforts to shape the crypto art revolution.
Max's art is heavily influenced by his diverse experiences, including his time as a digital nomad, his minimalist lifestyle, and his exploration of esoteric and mystical aspects of life. He has lived a life of extremes, from luxurious travel to experiencing homelessness, all of which have profoundly shaped his worldview and creative output. In his art, Max often draws on his experiences with powerful psychedelics and his interest in the mystical, creating pieces that are both visually striking and thought-provoking. His works have been exhibited in major cities, museums, and galleries worldwide, establishing him as a significant voice in the contemporary digital art landscape.
Jennifer Juniper Stratford is a director, photographer, and video artist based in Hollywood, California. She is the founder and creative director of Telefantasy Studios, an off-Hollywood creative studio established in 2004. Stratford's work is deeply influenced by her passion for video art, outsider cinema, and experimental animation, creating a distinctive style reminiscent of late-night cable shows and obscure video cassettes.
Stratford's art has been exhibited internationally at renowned venues such as MoCA, Palais De Tokyo in Paris, the Whitney Museum, The Hammer Museum, LACMA, The Getty, and many others. Her creative contributions have earned her recognition, including a grant from the Mike Kelley Foundation for the Arts in 2018. At Telefantasy Studios, Stratford leads a team in crafting innovative concepts, building elaborate sets, and designing videographic packages for film, television, fashion, and music.
Neurocolor is a Mexican painter and digital artist renowned for his use of vibrant colors, dark motifs, and abstract patterns. As a cyberpunk culture enthusiast, Neurocolor’s art explores the futuristic and avant-garde, often featuring glitch aesthetics and surreal elements. His work, often inspired by hallucinatory visions and lucid dreams, explores the concept of color as a form of interpretation and a navigational tool for understanding the world. This philosophy is encapsulated in his moniker, 'neurocolor,' reflecting his fascination with the interplay between color perception and the brain.
Neurocolor’s art style is characterized by vibrant, cartoonish elements and "noisy" images, and it found a challenging market in traditional galleries. It wasn't until he discovered the NFT space that he found a platform perfectly suited for his avant-garde work. The anonymity and freedom of the digital space allowed Neurocolor to flourish, tapping into his experiences with raves and psychedelics, which have deeply influenced his artistic perspective. Despite his bold online presence, Neurocolor remains private about his personal life, focusing instead on the vibrant, exploratory nature of his art.
“no GIF, no life.”
Katherina "Kate the Cursed" Jesek is a glitch artist and video art creator known for her nostalgic yet innovative use of 1980s and 1990s technology. A dedicated GIF enthusiast, Kate's work explores themes of cyberpunk and vaporwave, using open-source image-editing programs and obsolete hardware like CRT monitors and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.
Born in 1999, she experiences a "zoomer nostalgia" for an era she never lived through, using this unique perspective to create art that offers positive visions in contrast to the often dystopian narratives of speculative fiction. Jesek views glitch as a medium for discovering spontaneity within rigid technological systems, likening it to finding a beautiful weed growing in the cracks of a sidewalk. Her work embodies a healing practice, aiming to preserve and recreate moments of wonder amidst the evolving landscape of glitch art and its intersection with the NFT market.
Read next:
10 Digital Artists: Digital Abstract Art
10 Digital Artists: The Most Famous & Popular Digital Artists
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