Today we invite you to take a closer look at the creative talent behind Navette, the first collection in our Craft Nouveau series. From conceptualization of the generative art to production of the physical product, the expertise that shapes the collection is exceptional.

French atelier Néolice, masters in artisanal weaving, were connected to generative artist Alexis André through TRAME, our collaborative partner who works with several top ateliers to produce exceptionally crafted products.

André recently had a chance to visit Néolice, where the physical counterparts to the generative works — beautifully colored tapestries — will be produced.

The Artist and the Atelier

André is a top talent in the field of generative art. You may be familiar with his recent collaboration with Art Blocks on the popular Friendship Bracelets. Like Navette, Friendship Bracelets explores the possibilities at the intersection of generative art and physical output, having coded instructions for production of the bracelets within the art, a graceful segue to André’s work on Navette.

André has a doctorate in Computer Science and over 20 years of creative coding experience. But there’s much more depth to his work beyond technical knowledge. He has spent years thinking about input as related to output and the “why” behind the process of creation. André wants people to understand that the generative systems themselves, the rules that govern the outputs, are a form of art.

Changing the governing language of the programming directly affects the aesthetic result, the colors, the patterns, the movement, sometimes in unexpected ways, a process that André enjoys exploring:

The relationship between coded input and physical expression is something Néolice understands intimately as well. Using weaving techniques dating back to the 15th Century the atelier is, like André, a master of their craft.

They are also innovators, having developed a unique digital process that replaces the traditional system of physical punch cards — a programming method dating from the 18th C. used to dictate the output of weave patterns, surprisingly still the predominate method used today — with digital drawings that now speak directly to the digitized looms.

This has opened an array of exciting possibilities that André and partner Néolice enjoyed discussing in the studio recently. These possibilities underscore how powerful generative art can be in facilitating meaningful expression in the physical world.

What kind of aesthetic outputs will this collaboration produce, and what meaning will they convey? That’s the exciting part: We can’t wait to reveal the first generative artwork alongside its physical counterpart during NFT Paris — this week!

Stay tuned to our social channels for up-to-date coverage. Next week, we will provide documentation and photos of the reveal at Le Bon Marché, and take a closer look at mint mechanics.

Key Dates & Details

Navette Pop-up Exhibition: On display at Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche, 38 rue de Sèvres, 1st Floor (1er étage maison de la Grande Epicerie de Paris) on February 23 and 24 from 10 am to 7:45 pm, with the opening cocktail reception on the 23rd at 5pm.

The Mint: 300 NFTs will be available to mint online in a Dutch auction on March 2 at collectibles.trameparis.com. The first eight minters will be airdropped an NFT redeemable for a tapestry of their digital artwork.