fxGems is curated by Haiver. Follow on Twitter and Mastodon for recommendations, and sign up for email notifications on Substack for when a new issue drops. To support the work, collect a copy of this issue or past issues, or consider minting one of my generative pieces here on fx(hash).

With 3622 projects released in December 2021, it's impossible for every good generative art project to fit in the fxGems Best of Lists for abstract and representational art, so the Honorable Mentions was born. And there are many possible reasons a project ended up in the Honorable Mentions instead of on a Best of List. There wasn't enough variety across the minted pieces, or some of the layouts were strong but other mints could have used more self-awareness between their parts. The piece was well executed but lacked originality, or the piece was original but lacked execution. Or there were a limited number of color palettes when the project would have really shone with a few more.

Or perhaps the artist still has room to grow, but we should start rooting for them now. The algorithm needed to be pushed further, techniques stacked together, or the process used made less obvious (I'm looking at you flow fields). Or they're using a library with such a distinctive look, like Hydra, that the project struggles to stand out from the crowd. And then there are the artists who had a stronger piece make the fxGems Best of List this month and we're trying to spread the love around instead of having the same few names appear repeatedly at the top (but don't want you to miss a very fun piece either!).

It's important to note that fxGems is not a ranked list. One part of good curation is putting pieces in conversation with one another, so each numbered mint featured here has been carefully selected, then ordered into groups of twos and threes to create a dialogue between the different projects. There are juxtapositions and echoes, recurring themes and visual motifs. A thread has been woven throughout. How it draws you from one project to the next is up to you to find.

If you're looking for more recommendations, check out the representational Best of Lists, the four part abstract Best of List, and the multiple issues gathering all of the many Honorable Mentions, covering December 2021.

BlockFarms by Phasu

Recursive Tiles (Interactive) by mocomatics

ｙｕｍｉ - ユミリー [1984] by eddietree

Prospettive Astratte by 111v1ab

Knit by __orderandchaos

Attractors Bestiary by Estienne

Interpolations by b2renger

Plantes by balintkulcsar

Vortice Umbra by mandybrigwell

<iframes> by ciphrd

Memory Pool 人人人人 ﾟ.+:｡ヽ(´∀｀)ﾉﾟ.+:｡ 人人人人 by photoevaporation

Generative Patterns #5 by jotta.rs

Radio Gel by Cyril Diagne

Void Divergence by Dorian Lods

Cell by phil_osophie

ClrWreath by smtsjhr

Beauty In Chaos by Gorik

Rings by __orderandchaos

I Know by Kali

Pictvra by Ad Mortem Festinamus

Astro by andre

Bacterias by somaticbits

Fancy Patterns by flockaroo

Apophenia by Kusamehewa

Traffic Lights by God Is A Mathematician

Rainbows by André Oliveira Cebola

Postcard CMYK by ismahelio

1968 by campyoutsider

Reaction Diffusion Cellular Automata by anbello

Modulo Art - Animated Series by mono

Inaccurate Depictions: String Theory by superbialux

Boho Pattern by neigal

Polka by artplusbrad

Zürich Stations Grid III by meodai

fxGems is not affiliated with fx(hash) or fx(text) (hence the lack of parentheses), and none of the recommendations herein should be construed as financial advice. We’re here to celebrate the art!

Each month I go one by one through all of the projects that dropped on fx(hash) to find the strongest, most compelling work — generative art that has a unique voice, a wide variety across its many mints, and an intriguing approach to algorithms and technique.

So don't forget to subscribe, follow, and collect ;)