Sarah Ridgley is an American artist best known for her work as a printmaker and generative artist. Ridgley started a letterpress studio in Arkansas
while getting her law degree, and worked for many years with her ever-growing collection of type and presses. When she discovered the rich
history of generative art, Ridgley shifted to working with pixels and code (a new set of rules altogether). Many of her code-based pieces were then
rendered as prints using a variety of techniques from her print studio. This multidisciplinary approach is a defining trait of Ridgley’s practice.
“The question is whether the code or the output is the artwork. The code reflects the artist’s creative choices and is used to generate the various iterations. The output is what is most closely associated with the concept of art. I think both are integral parts of the work.”
Ridgley also works with generative typography, exploring temporality through the material of date, time, and place. With themes rooted in nature
and text, Ridgley developed an asemic writing algorithm to create visual poetry, considering ideas of universal comprehension and text as visual
language — an object to be viewed rather than read.
Her work has been exhibited around the world, including at The Digital for Miami Art Week (2021), Artists Who Code at Vellum LA (2022), a
biennial exhibition, Personal Structures, curated by the European Cultural Centre in Venice, Italy (2022), FEMGEN (2022), Code Chronicles with
Bitforms Gallery (2023), and the Paris Collection and Venice Finale with Bright Moments (2024).