About

The Artist

Ian Green is a contemporary artist working at the intersection of technology and traditional art forms. By day, he develops AI infrastructure and distributed systems; by night, he explores how these digital experiences translate into physical expression through painting and mixed media.

The Metonymic Debris project emerged from a fascination with the fragments of meaning that accumulate in our digital communications — the bits and pieces of intention that get lost, transformed, or unexpectedly preserved as they move through networks and systems.

The Process

Each work begins with computational exploration. Using algorithms to generate patterns, analyze color relationships, or simulate natural processes, these digital studies become the foundation for physical works. The translation from digital to analog is where the most interesting discoveries happen — where the precision of code meets the unpredictability of paint.

The oil paintings in particular represent a deliberate choice to work in the most traditional medium possible, creating a tension between the digital inspiration and the ancient craft of mixing pigments and applying them to canvas.

Philosophy

The title "Metonymic Debris" refers to what remains after the encounter — the afterimage, the hum, the residue of thought. These are fragments of the infinite lodged in the finite, continuing to oscillate and call the mind back into motion.

My work exists in the space between meaning and mystery, tuned to that vibration too fast for language, too slow for certainty. I am what might be called "one who works in smoke" — tending the conditions under which vision might appear rather than possessing vision itself.

The goal is not to gather these fragments into a system, but to let them whisper to one another in the dark, creating new patterns of smoke. As I write in my artistic thesis: never allow the world to become too clear.

Ian Green in his studio