Art Dubai Digital (Art Dubai’s newest gallery section) will feature a curated selection of 17 international galleries and platforms from all over the world.

Including presentations from traditional gallery models that are leading the way in this rapidly developing space, to a selection of the most cutting-edge platforms and digitally native collectives, Art Dubai Digital will give visitors a 360-degree overview of how artists are using these technologies in their practice.

A wide variety of presentations will be displayed, from solo displays and immersive environments by the leading practitioners in this space, to the latest, newly minted NFTs.

Orkhan Mammadov, ‘Singularity In Heritage (from Revival of Aesthetics series)’, 2022

In advance of the fair, Art Dubai’s Artistic Director Pablo del Val selects his 5 must-sees at Art Dubai Digital.

Istanbul’s PILEVNELI gallery is showcasing celebrated data art pioneer Refik Anadol’s work, including his data sculpture Hallucinations: ISS Dreams B (2020-1). Anadol is known for his mesmerising, richly-coloured moving-image works and installations that portray how we can use machine intelligence to create and engage with new forms of aesthetics. His works explore abstract concepts and emotions, such as hallucinations or memories or the metaverse and dreams. They suggest new and complex ways of understanding our subconscious selves, our experiences and emotions – all intangible and often elusive – through new technologies, the mechanics of which are often intangible and incomprehensible themselves.

Refik Anadol, ‘Machine Hallucinations: Floral Pigmentations A, 2021

Window Project – in collaboration with instigators – presents a generative series of animated digital sculptures in “Sacred Creatures: BajBajas”, a joint NFT project created by Uta Bekaia and Denis Davydov. Active participants in discussions about contemporary art and computer technologies, Davydov and Bekaia present avatars as objects existing between numerous worlds, giving them new content and visual interpretations. They are collaborating on a virtual meta-universe – a new world where fantasy, recollections, and endless possibilities of computer games merge. The name of the project refers to Georgian word “baj-baja” that translates as a smooth movement or walk (similar to Japanese “kawaii”).

Uta Bekaia x Denis Davydov, ‘Sacred Creatures: BajBajas MELANCHOLIA. Svadhisthana Family’,  Computer-generated image NFT.

In a similar vein, London NFT platform Insitut is showing works by four artists, including Krista Kim, whose generative 3D animation Mirror of the Mind (2022) is an immersive 8-minute meditation. Kim aims to create “zen” experiences for the mind using digital technologies. Her practice hinges on the idea of using technology as an effective vehicle for making healing art and thereby a more soothing and mindful digital culture. “Art becomes a mirror of the mind,” she has said about the work. For Kim, the slippery idea of the future – the backdrop of Art Dubai Digital, as it reflects and anticipates changes in art-marking practice – is one rooted in the past. “My vision is of a future based on the individual practice of meditation, extending to every aspect of our everyday lives.”

Orkhan Mammadov, Singularity in Heritage (from Revival of Aesthetics series), 2022

Postmasters has been a leading force in the introduction of digital art into the contemporary art world since 1991, capturing a resurgence in digital experimentation triggered by the arrival of desktop computers and the first creative visual software. Olive Allen’s vibrant digital artworks reference pop-culture nostalgia to create her own series of characters, on view at Postmasters’ Digital booth X1. Her work engages audiences, and expresses subtle undertones of cultural & societal commentary.

Olive Allen, ‘Sheeple Punk’, 2021, Digital Image

GAZELL.iO is the digital art arm of Gazelli Art House, which comprises a physical space in London’s Dover Street; the GAZELL.iO Project Space; and a dynamic online exhibition programme including residency, VR library and a range of NFT initiatives. Orkhan Mammadov’s work recognizes the heritage of carpets. His work traverses traditional carpet design as a longstanding element of Azerbaijan’s history generated through digital technology. His Singularity In Heritage (from Revival of Aesthetics series) is on view at Gazell.iO’s Digital booth X15.

Orkhan Mammadov, Singularity in Heritage (from Revival of Aesthetics series), 2022