Gaia Series, Untitled

Roman Verostko (born 1929 USA) was one of the earliest artists experimenting with algorithmic art - work created using an algorithm or set of instructions written by the artist - and has been a key figure in its development. He was a member of the ‘The Algorists’, a term coined in 1995 to describe a set of artists, who, since the 1960s and 1970s, had been working with a shared interest in the use of bespoke software for generating art using the computer.

Verostko developed his own software for the pen plotter, a mechanical device that holds a pen or brush and is linked to a computer that controls its movement. He adapted the machine to hold multiple pens in order to create intensely detailed drawings, such as this one. The algorithm written by the artist dictated the shape, distribution and colour choice for each line.