Victor Acevedo: Spatial and Metaphysical Metaphors

6^th October 2026, 18:00
Goldsmiths University

American digital art pioneer Victor Acevedo discusses four decades of making images with computers, from early desktop systems and print experiments through to recent blockchain-based work. Hosted by Catherine Mason, this joint Goldsmiths event explores the spatial and metaphysical metaphors that have shaped his distinctive artistic practice.

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About the Event

This joint event with the Goldsmiths School of Computing and Computational Arts centres on the work of American digital art pioneer Victor Acevedo. Acevedo has been making images with computers since 1983, and this talk will explore 40 years of digital experimentation, from his early work using desktop personal computers to recent work on the blockchain.

As an early adopter of digital tools, Acevedo will consider what has changed in digital art and what challenges he sees for the future. His interest in human perception and polyhedral phenomena has led him to explore synesthesia, cymatics, and Buckminster Fuller's Synergetics, resulting in works of geometrical abstraction and mesmerizing Electronic Visual Music (EVM) pieces that merge drone soundscapes with visual geometry.

Acevedo was instrumental in establishing the digital arts scene in Los Angeles at a point when digital art was sidelined from the mainstream. The challenges of that time with established art market structures led to Acevedo's involvement with Patric Prince and the founding of the CyberSpace Gallery, one of the very first galleries dedicated to showing digital art. The 1980s–90s are still underrepresented in histories of art and technology – why?

Catherine Mason will introduce Victor and subsequently lead a conversation including questions and observations from the audience. An author of books on the history of computer and digital art, she is a Visiting Research and Knowledge Exchange Fellow in the School of Computing, Goldsmiths, University of London.

About the Speaker

Victor Acevedo

Speaker

Victor Acevedo is an American artist best known for his digital work involving printmaking and video. He was introduced to computer graphics in 1980 while attending Gene Youngblood's Expanded Cinema survey class at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. A Los Angeles native, he studied at the University of New Mexico and ArtCenter College of Design, later teaching at New York's School of Visual Arts for over a decade. Rooted in geometric abstraction yet often intertwined with figuration, his hybrid imagery carries a metaphysical sensibility that bridges technology, philosophy, and form. He has been involved with SIGGRAPH and the LA digital arts scene for many years. His art is part of major collections, including the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Anne & Michael Spalter Digital Art Collection, and has been featured in key histories of digital art. Today, he continues to experiment with new platforms, bringing his pioneering spirit to AI, the blockchain, and web3 space.

About the Host

Catherine Mason

CASCOM

Catherine Mason has been recovering the history of computer and digital art since 2002 when she joined an AHRC research group at Birkbeck, University of London. Her first book A Computer in the Art Room: the Origins of British Computer Arts 1950-1980 (JJG: 2008 & ebook 2021), is the first comprehensive account of the history of British computer art. Over a long career she has worked in commercial galleries and public-sector arts organisations, adult education and exhibition curation. Today her main focus is research and writing; her latest book Creative Simulations (Springer 2024), tells the story of the early history of CAS, through George Mallen, one of the founders. She is a Visiting Research and Knowledge Exchange Fellow in the School of Computing at Goldsmiths, University of London.