Michaël Zancan

Michaël Zancan is a generative artist who previously worked as a painter. The artist's practice is now focused on creating images through computational systems. They publish work under the name zancan. This output is organised into distinct series, each with its own thematic and formal structure. The artist has named these series Lushtemples, Stills From Last Night, and Garden, Monoliths, suggesting a range of interests from natural and architectural forms to more narrative scenes. This background in painting informs a practice now dedicated to digital media.

The artist’s works are described as generative drawings created using Javascript code. This process involves writing a specific program that serves as an autonomous system for producing images. The system defines a set of rules and variables which, when executed, generate a unique visual result. This method allows for the creation of extensive series where each piece is a distinct iteration produced by the same underlying logic. The final works are rendered as digital files at a high resolution, demonstrating a clear attention to the texture, composition and fine detail of the finished image.

The subjects in Zancan's work frequently reference the natural world. Series titles like Lushtemples and Garden, Monoliths evoke landscapes that are both verdant and monumental, combining organic growth with the solidity of temples or stone structures. A recurring theme appears to be the relationship between ephemeral life and the permanence of the digital object. The text accompanying the work Blue Bird contrasts the fleeting existence of a bird with the fixed, unchangeable state of its representation. Through code, the artist constructs intricate worlds that explore these tensions, translating painterly concerns with colour and form into a computational context.