Art That Makes Itself - In Conversation with Paul Brown

Where: NRCG - 44 Cherry Street Ballina
Date: Sat 30 May 2026
Time: 11am - 12pm
Age: Open to all
Cost: Free to attend. Seating available subject to capacity.

Join us for a special in-conversation event with exhibiting artist Paul Brown, who will delve into the evolution of his artistic practice alongside NRCG Exhibitions Officer Travis Paterson, and explore the influences and ideas that have shaped his work.  

Arising from digital ecosystems made up of artificial agents—Brown designs small computer programs using artificial intelligence and artificial life (A‑Life) to create artworks. These agents follow simple behavioural rules, yet through their interactions, something more complex unfolds; shifting patterns, collective movement, and intricate forms that no single agent could create on its own. Images and animations grow organically from within the system itself. 

Paul’s engagement with generative systems began in the 1960s, informed by the principles of Systems Art and Art Concret, European movements grounded in Constructivism, De Stijl, and the Bauhaus. He describes his method, where elemental rules generate surprising, abundant richness of form, as the ‘Geometric Sublime’. 

Paul Brown’s exhibition Colonies: The Geometric Sublime – Art That Makes Itself is on display at NRCG from 30 April – 21 June 2026.

This event is free to attend, and seating is subject to capacity. Please contact the Gallery ahead of time if you have accessibility needs you would like us to be aware of.

For more information contact the Gallery on 02 6681 0530.

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 Image: Wrapping Paper, Digital Image, Paul Brown, 2017