Emily Xie is a New York City-based visual artist and engineer renowned for her generative art that bridges the realms of art and coding. Drawing inspiration from modern art, formalism, and semiotics, Xie's work explores themes of texturality, form, and structure. With a background in art history and engineering, her artwork has been exhibited internationally, including at prestigious venues such as Kunsthalle Zürich and the Armory Show.

Xie's generative systems navigate the delicate balances between chance and control, the organic and the systematic, and the abstract and the representational. Her creative process involves mood boards, design systems, and rapid iteration before moving on to the time-intensive process of coding. As a pioneer in the field of generative art, Xie has been instrumental in pushing the boundaries of what is possible within this innovative medium.

Emily Xie's artistic journey began with her lifelong love for art, honed through years of studying and practicing various mediums. Alongside her dedication to art, Xie's interest in engineering led her to work professionally as a software engineer. It was during this time that she discovered generative art, an innovative medium that allowed her to merge her dual passions for art and coding.

In 2015, Emily Xie first encountered the world of generative art through Daniel Shiffman's "Coding Train" educational series. She was captivated by the genre, which allowed her to create visually stunning artwork using algorithms and code. Eager to explore this newfound passion further, Xie attended a programming retreat where she received a grant to dive deeper into generative art. She later participated in a technology-and-arts residency, experimenting with a broad range of technical possibilities and further expanding her artistic horizons.

As Emily's expertise in generative art grew, so did her list of influences. She was inspired by other creatives in the field, such as Thomas Lin Pedersen, Matt DesLauriers, Zach Lieberman, and Tyler Hobbs. Her personal heroes, Lauren McCarthy and Daniel Shiffman, played a significant role in shaping her approach to creative coding. Their work with the p5.js creative coding library, along with their focus on endless curiosity, continual learning, and playful experimentation, left a lasting impression on Xie's artistic practice.

Emily Xie's work is deeply rooted in her studies of art history, particularly modern art, formalism, and semiotics. These influences have shaped the way she interprets and creates art, adding a unique layer of depth to her generative pieces. With a keen understanding of the delicate balance between chance and control, Emily's art explores the fascinating interplay between the organic and systematic, the abstract and the representational.

In recent years, the emergence of the NFT space has had a profound impact on the field of generative art, and Xie's work is no exception. The NFT movement has embraced generative art, driving the adoption of certain norms and evolving the way artists like Emily think about their programs. This shift has led Emily to focus on programming flexibility into her work, allowing her to explore the full range of outputs and strategically constrain or develop heuristics to refine her creations.

Emily Xie's work has been exhibited in prestigious venues around the world, garnering international acclaim and recognition. Her series for the Bright Moments exhibition in London is a testament to her ongoing exploration of texturality, form, and structure. With a focus on the collage aesthetic, she has seamlessly integrated the theme of "craftwork" into her generative art.

When creating her work, Xie's process often begins with mood boards, where she collects images and materials that resonate with her current emotional state. This visual exploration allows her to externalize her feelings in a way that words cannot. She then moves on to design systems, using tools like Photoshop to prototype and iterate on various textures and colors, exploring their impact on the mood and feel of her pieces. Finally, she translates her ideas into code, bringing her generative artwork to life.

As generative art gains recognition and appreciation in the traditional art world, Emily Xie is optimistic about the future of the medium. She believes that in the next decade, generative art will be more widely taught, recognized, and exhibited in museums and art writings worldwide. With increased awareness and a more diverse group of artists entering the field, Xie envisions a bright and exciting future for generative art.

At the In Our Code exhibition

In "Flowers in Bloom," Emily Xie uses an algorithm programmed in JavaScript to cut pieces of generative paper and layer them onto a digital canvas. The result is a human and organic image that challenges the cold robotic nature of its medium. With its handmade and tactile aesthetic, "Flowers in Bloom" emphasizes the interplay between traditional art forms and digital creation. The subject matter of flowers, which often symbolize human emotions and experiences, further underscores the dialogue between the human touch and the digital realm.