Roman Verostko and the Cloud of Unknowing

Roman Verostko (born 1929), an emeritus professor at MCAD who taught for twenty-six years and served in numerous administrative capacities, is an internationally-recognized figure in the development of generative, algorithmic art. Unlike many of his contemporaries who came from engineering and computer science backgrounds, Verostko was a Benedictine monk at Saint Vincent Archabbey and a professionally-trained painter and scholar well-versed in the history of art, philosophy, logic, and theology before he started to work with electronic and digital media in the late 1960s.

The retrospective exhibition includes over seventy original works by Verostko, encompassing his pre-algorist work, algorithmic pen and brush plotter drawings, early screen/video pieces, electronic machines, mural projects, artist books, and newer editioned prints. One of the artist’s pen plotters will be featured, as will selections from his archives of detailed notes, equations, and codes. Rather than a strict chronological retrospective, the exhibition will be organized around major themes that appear throughout Verostko’s work, such as his search for pure form, his interest in logic, his merging of eastern and western aesthetics and philosophy, and his understanding of his home “Pathway Studio" as a modern day electronic scriptorium.