Exploring the visual effects of colors in sequence — 1000000 works releasing with set price.

Nguyen Wahed presents Infinite Garden, a solo exhibition by Leander Herzog in New York. For two months, beginning March 17, the standalone installation transforms the concept of digital materiality through an ever-shifting botanical ecosystem on blockchain where no single moment repeats itself.

ARTXCODE proudly presents Virga, an exploration of transience by William Watkins. Inspired by the meteorological phenomenon where rain evaporates before reaching the ground, Virga captures the delicate tension between presence and disappearance — where abundance gives way to absence. It is a meditation on impermanence, revealing how fleeting moments shape human experience in ways we may not immediately perceive.

Virga unfolds in layered compositions where faces emerge from shifting, atmospheric backdrops. Some figures step forward with clarity, while others dissolve into the visual cascade — sketch-like, spectral, elusive. As these forms morph and distort, they oscillate between human likeness and organic structures, evoking the fluidity of corals and the intricate formations of shells.

At the heart of Virga is a system written entirely in code, creating everything from the faces to the sketch-like rendering. Each subject is constructed from approximately 50 mathematical primitives — spheres, boxes, ellipses — sculpted through variables such as line length, density, repetition, and blur. Subsystems govern the expression and the surrounding environment: one ensures figures gaze at us, while another transforms background textures into fragmented silhouettes. Triplanar mapping introduces subtle variations across surfaces, producing a shifting interplay of abstraction and realism. The result is a work that feels both deliberate and organic, precise yet deeply emotive.

Beyond its technical intricacy, Virga radiates a deeper resonance, embracing the paradox of impermanence. Though precipitation may never reach the earth, its effects like downdrafts, temperature shifts, and new cloud formations reshape the atmosphere. Even the most fleeting gestures, like virga itself, leave unseen yet lasting imprints. "Small moments," Watkins reflects, "are integral to the human experience. Life is shaped by them.”

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Virga makes heavy use of the GPU, lower-end devices my struggle to run it properly.

William Watkins x ARTXCODE March 2025

This series takes its cue from the concept of AI agents, which are predicted to become increasingly widespread in the near future. Multiple doubles, generated from the artist’s own body and facial data, persistently process vast streams of information without revealing any emotion. In doing so, they re-enact the stereotype of the Japanese “Office Lady (OL)” an archetype that serves to make prevailing gender norms visible.

OLs were once referred to as the "flowers of the workplace," or shokuba no hana (職場の華) in Japanese. This phrase denotes someone, usually female, who brings charm and positivity to the office environment. At the same time, OLs were expected to leave their jobs upon marriage or childbirth, reflecting broader societal views on gender and work.

While AI poses the risk of learning and amplifying such historical biases, it also holds the promise of spurring a reconfiguration of work practices and divisions of labor. By foregrounding this duality through its “doubles,” the work prompts viewers to consider whether an AI-driven future will merely reproduce the past or whether it can potentially establish a new social order.