AB[500] · Artist bibliography

William Mapan: links

A source ledger for the Paris-based artist whose code translates air, pigment, paper, memory, pressure, and hand-drawn marks into generative form.

41 sources · last updated 14 July 2026

In the AB[500]: Art Blocks

Art Blocks' artist profile records Mapan's Paris practice, biography, recognition, and platform projects.

William Mapan on Art Blocks ↗ artist profile

Anticyclone comprises 800 atmospheric abstractions that translate air flow, rotation, pressure, paper, and crayon into code.

Anticyclone ↗ Art Blocks Curated · 2022

Jeff Davis interviews Mapan about his education, patient process, artistic influences, and the development of Anticyclone.

In Conversation with William Mapan ↗ interview · 2022

Art Blocks' exhibition essay introduces Paysages Plausibles and Mapan's continuing inquiry into computational landscape.

Uncovering the Plausibilities ↗ exhibition essay · 2026

Works and the artist's own deep pages

Mapan's exhibition chronology documents presentations of Anticyclone, Distance, Sketchbook, Centrifuge, and related works from 2022 onward.

Exhibitions ↗ artist chronology

Verse archives Sketchbook A, a collector-curated generative series derived from more than 1.5 million explored seeds.

Sketchbook A ↗ series · 2023

Bright Moments' token record documents 1935, Mapan's 100-work response to Anni Albers and her travels in Mexico.

1935 ↗ series · 2022

Avant Arte documents Centrifuge, a 35-work series pairing coded movement with unique physical prints.

Centrifuge ↗ digital and physical series · 2024

Museums and institutions

LACMA's Unframed journal interviews Mapan about Distance, Paul Klee, aerial views, colour, material studies, and generative process.

Remembrance of Things Future ↗ museum interview · 2023

Toledo Museum of Art's Infinite Images archive presents Distance #198 and its response to Klee's 1914 watercolour.

Distance #198 ↗ museum exhibition record · 2025

Toledo Museum of Art's artist profile surveys Mapan's movement between physical mark-making and generative code.

William Mapan at Toledo Museum of Art ↗ museum profile · 2025

Arab Bank Switzerland records Strands of Solitude #028 in its collection and describes the series' connection-isolation theme.

Strands of Solitude #028 ↗ institutional collection

Petit Palais records a public conversation between Mapan and Centre Pompidou new-media curator Philippe Bettinelli.

Dialogues numériques ↗ museum talk · 2025

IZZA's Museum in the Medina collection includes multiple Anticyclone works and physical works by Mapan.

IZZA Art and Design ↗ institutional collection

The Digital Art Awards record Mapan's Anticyclone presentation and the practice's movement from physical sketches into code.

Anticyclone at the Digital Art Awards ↗ award exhibition · 2025

Galleries and exhibitions

Bright Moments' artist page introduces Mapan's digital practice and his Mexico City project 1935.

William Mapan at Bright Moments ↗ gallery profile · 2022

Bright Moments documents the Mexico City collection and live-mint programme in which 1935 appeared.

NFT Art CDMX ↗ event archive · 2022

Verse's profile surveys Mapan's major series, art-historical references, exhibitions, and teaching practice.

William Mapan at Verse ↗ gallery archive

SOLOS' Extension exhibition placed Sketchbook B and Études within a sustained study of digital mark-making.

Extension ↗ solo exhibition · 2025

Ocula's record for Unit London details COMPUTE: Sinking Patterns, its eight code-based works, prints, and acrylic paintings.

COMPUTE: Sinking Patterns ↗ solo exhibition · 2022

Heft Gallery's inaugural GROUNDWORK grouped Mapan with artists examining process, material, and encoded systems.

GROUNDWORK ↗ group exhibition · 2025

Tonic's series archive records Strands of Solitude among its digital and physical art releases.

Strands of Solitude at Tonic ↗ series archive · 2023

HOFA's Sketchbook B record describes Mapan's hand-led process and references to Abstract Expressionism and Impressionism.

Sketchbook B ↗ gallery record · 2025

Art Basel Paris and Iconic presented Superpositions, 250 NFC-linked art cards curated from roughly 500,000 outputs, each unlocking a hand-signed, hand-numbered print.

Superpositions ↗ fair presentation · 2025

Interviews

Right Click Save's extended interview covers Mapan's route from motion design to code, Dragons, Anticyclone, emotion, and audience.

An Interview with William Mapan ↗ interview · 2022

The Monty Report interviews Mapan about artistic identity, parenthood, teaching, race, technique, and life after Anticyclone.

William Mapan Finds His Voice ↗ interview · 2023

Dalos Dov asks Mapan about creative chaos, patience, full-time practice, influences, and the role of chance.

Creative Chaos, Patience and Enjoying the Ride ↗ interview · 2023

Art Basel's feature has Mapan reflect on his software background, the dialogue between code and painting, and the future of digital art in the age of AI.

On blurring code, paint, and generative art ↗ interview · 2025

Press and criticism

nft now identifies Dragons as a major early fxhash project and places it within the platform's generative-art history.

10 fxhash Generative Art Projects ↗ press · 2023

Forbes reports on Distance, its LACMA context, Paul Klee source, aerial views, and Stark Bar display.

Web3 Travel Guides: Los Angeles ↗ press · 2023

Le Random's collection note reads Strands of Solitude through density, negative space, flow fields, and the paradox of digital connection.

Strands of Solitude #047 ↗ collection essay

Observer's review of Art Basel Zero 10 (Basel, June 2026) features Mapan's Paysages Plausibles, machine-generated wireframes translated into oil; Art Blocks' presentation of his work sold out.

Art Basel Zero 10 at Observer ↗ press · 2026

Essays, talks and podcasts

SonOfLasG reads Mapan's early textile-like experiments, Dragons, Anticyclone, and the Sketchbooks as a continuous practice in which the pen and hand remain upstream of the algorithm.

The Pen Comes First ↗ X article · 2026

The original publication of SonOfLasG's essay preserves the same argument and source list in the writer's Paragraph archive.

The Pen Comes First at Paragraph ↗ essay · 2026

Unit London's podcast joins Mapan with Iskra Velitchkova and Emily Xie to discuss art history, randomness, and long-form generative practice.

Creativity and Randomness in Generative Art ↗ podcast · 2022

Verse Talks follows Sketchbook A into Sketchbook B, discussing mark-making, identity, parenthood, burnout, and authenticity.

Opening the Sketchbook ↗ podcast interview · 2025

Collector's Corner interviews Mapan about Dragons, Pokémon, early Tezos culture, and his approach to generative character.

Dragons with William Mapan ↗ podcast interview · 2022

Auctions and catalogues

Sotheby's catalogue records Anticyclone #337 as one of 800 unique iterations, with contract, token, and provenance data.

Anticyclone #337 ↗ auction catalogue · 2024

Christie's 3.0 archive includes Mapan in Future Frequencies, its 2023 generative art and fashion auction with Gucci.

Future Frequencies ↗ auction archive · 2023

Profiles and archives

Ragnar Digital's profile traces Mapan's physical studies, JavaScript systems, art-historical references, exhibitions, and collections.

William Mapan at Ragnar Digital ↗ artist profile

Kanbas archives Mapan's biography and major projects, including Anticyclone, Distance, and Strands of Solitude.

William Mapan at Kanbas ↗ artist archive