# Casey REAS

> Los Angeles artist and UCLA professor who co-created Processing with Ben Fry, known for software works such as Process and CENTURY on Art Blocks.

- Page: https://www.gondi.xyz/artist/casey-reas
- Works on GONDI: 3,312
- Collectors: 1,342
- About page: https://www.gondi.xyz/artist/casey-reas/about

## About

Casey Reas is an artist and educator based in Los Angeles. He studied design at the University of Cincinnati and took a master's degree in Media Arts and Sciences at the MIT Media Lab. In 2001 he and Ben Fry created Processing, an open-source programming language and environment for artists and designers, and he later co-founded the Processing Foundation. He is a professor of Design Media Arts at UCLA, where he chairs the department. In 2020 he co-founded Feral File, a website where digital art is shown and sold to collectors.

His work takes the form of software, prints, video and installations. The Whitney Museum commissioned *{Software} Structures* for its artport website, a set of programs that answer Sol LeWitt's written instructions with code. That project led to the *Process* series (2004 to 2010), in which each work is a short set of rules that software can carry out without end. [*Process Compendium*](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/process-compendium-by-casey-reas.md) archives the series as still images. The Whitney, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Centre Pompidou and LACMA hold his work.

He has released works on the blockchain since 2019. [*CENTURY*](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/century-by-casey-reas.md) came out on Art Blocks Curated in June 2021: 1,000 outputs of a system that cuts painted surfaces apart and reorders them. It draws equally on Ellsworth Kelly's Paris collages of the 1950s and on the chance movement of George Rickey's kinetic sculptures. [*Pre-Process*](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/pre-process-by-casey-reas.md) followed on Art Blocks Curated in November 2022. In August 2023 collectors minted [*923 EMPTY ROOMS*](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/923-empty-rooms-by-casey-reas.md) in person with Bright Moments over six days in six cities, from Tokyo to Los Angeles. That November bitforms in New York opened his solo show *It Doesn't Exist (In Any Other Form)*, which debuted [*There's No Distance*](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/theres-no-distance.md) as a series of 128 software works, released on fxhash in December.

## At a glance

- Practice: Generative software art, prints, video and installation
- In museums: Whitney, Centre Pompidou, V&A, LACMA
- Based in: Los Angeles, CA
- Platforms: Art Blocks, Bright Moments, Feral File, fxhash, Manifold
- Education: M.S. Media Arts and Sciences, MIT Media Lab (2001), B.S., College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning, University of Cincinnati

## Notable works

- 2021: [CENTURY](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/century-by-casey-reas.md), Art Blocks Curated
- 2004-2010: [Process and Process Compendium](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/process-compendium-by-casey-reas.md)
- 2013: [Ultraconcentrated](https://whitney.org/collection/works/58054)
- 2002: [MicroImage](https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1193783)
- 2004: [{Software} Structures](https://whitney.org/collection/works/23923), Whitney Museum of American Art

## In museum collections

- [UltraConcentrated (2013), a two-channel software installation, and the artport commission {Software} Structures (2004)](https://whitney.org/collection/works/58054), Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
- 2011: [Process 13 (2006), a software projection with two printed texts, and Process 8 (2005)](https://www.centrepompidou.fr/fr/ressources/oeuvre/cGzEbg), Centre Pompidou, Paris
- 2011: [Process 18 (Software 3) (2010), software with its prints, and three MicroImage prints (2002)](https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1225402), Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), London
- 2014: [The John Ferraro Building, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (2013), a screenprint for Machine Project](https://collections.lacma.org/object/189846), Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles, CA

## Top sales

- 2024: [CENTURY #723](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/century-by-casey-reas/100000723.md), 17 ETH (about $53,200)
- 2021: [There's No Distance 2.1](https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2021/natively-digital-a-curated-nft-sale-2/theres-no-distance-2-1), Sotheby's, $52,920
- 2023: [CENTURY #172](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/century-by-casey-reas/100000172.md), 7.5 ETH (about $15,500)
- 2023: [CENTURY #685](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/century-by-casey-reas/100000685.md), 7.44 ETH (about $15,300)
- 2025: [Pre-Process #103](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/pre-process-by-casey-reas/383000103.md), 2.95 ETH (about $12,700)
- 2025: [Pre-Process #82](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/pre-process-by-casey-reas/383000082.md), 3.2 ETH (about $12,400)

## Exhibitions

- 2025: [Infinite Images: The Art of Algorithms, a group show with CENTURY](https://reas.com/exhibitions), Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, OH
- 2024: [Digital Witness: Revolutions in Design, Photography, and Film, a group show with Process 14](https://reas.com/exhibitions), Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles, CA
- 2024: [Wet and Saturated Process, solo show with new Technical Images made with Erika Weitz](https://reas.com/exhibitions), Unit London, London
- 2023: [It Doesn't Exist (In Any Other Form), solo show debuting the last four Still Life works and There's No Distance](https://reas.com/exhibitions), bitforms gallery, New York, NY
- 2023: [923 Empty Rooms, one week in Tokyo, Berlin, London, New York, Mexico City and Los Angeles](https://reas.com/exhibitions), Bright Moments
- 2023: [An Empty Room, a commissioned installation for Coded: Art Enters the Computer Age, 1952-1982](https://reas.com/exhibitions), Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles, CA
- 2018: [Programmed: Rules, Codes, and Choreographies in Art, 1965-2018, with Structure 3A and 3B](https://reas.com/exhibitions), Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
- 2018: [Chance and Control: Art in the Age of Computers, with Process 18 (Software 3)](https://reas.com/exhibitions), Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), London
- 2018: [Coder le monde: Mutations / Créations 2, with Tox Screen](https://reas.com/exhibitions), Centre Pompidou, Paris
- 2016: [There's No Distance, solo show debuting the Still Life software](https://reas.com/exhibitions), bitforms gallery, New York, NY
- 2012: [Field Conditions, with the debut of Process 18](https://reas.com/exhibitions), San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), San Francisco, CA
- 2010: [Process Compendium 2004-2010, solo show of the Process Compendium prints](https://reas.com/exhibitions), Gallery [DAM] Berlin, Berlin

## Recognition

- 2025: [Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship, 2025 to 2026](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BaK31_kDwUv81SFcsyMeolTYYHGBMlMHJ1fDIVbvy3k/edit?usp=sharing), Smithsonian Institution
- 2023: [ArtReview Power 100](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BaK31_kDwUv81SFcsyMeolTYYHGBMlMHJ1fDIVbvy3k/edit?usp=sharing), ArtReview
- 2022: [Artnet Innovators List](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BaK31_kDwUv81SFcsyMeolTYYHGBMlMHJ1fDIVbvy3k/edit?usp=sharing), Artnet
- 2020: [Lumen Prize, Moving Image Award](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BaK31_kDwUv81SFcsyMeolTYYHGBMlMHJ1fDIVbvy3k/edit?usp=sharing), Lumen Prize
- 2018: [Distinguished Teaching Award for Senate Faculty](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BaK31_kDwUv81SFcsyMeolTYYHGBMlMHJ1fDIVbvy3k/edit?usp=sharing), UCLA
- 2008: [Muriel Cooper Prize](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BaK31_kDwUv81SFcsyMeolTYYHGBMlMHJ1fDIVbvy3k/edit?usp=sharing), Design Management Institute
- 2008: [Media Arts Fellowship](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BaK31_kDwUv81SFcsyMeolTYYHGBMlMHJ1fDIVbvy3k/edit?usp=sharing), Tribeca Film Institute
- 2005: [Prix Ars Electronica Golden Nica, for Processing with Ben Fry](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BaK31_kDwUv81SFcsyMeolTYYHGBMlMHJ1fDIVbvy3k/edit?usp=sharing), Ars Electronica

## Collaborations

- 2024: [Technical Images and RGB Technical Images, made with Erika Weitz](https://reas.com/nfts)
- 2024: [Are you the Perfect Specimen?, made with Lauren Lee McCarthy, shown at Gazelli Art House](https://reas.com/exhibitions)
- 2021: [Compressed Cinema videos with the musician Jan St. Werner, shown in Alchemical at bitforms gallery](https://reas.com/exhibitions)
- 2017: [Four music videos for The National's album Sleep Well Beast](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casey_Reas), The National
- 2001: [Processing, the open-source programming language created with Ben Fry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casey_Reas)

## Press & resources

- 2024: ["Digital art is a kind of performance": Q&A with Casey Reas](https://unframed.lacma.org/node/3771), LACMA Unframed
- 2023: [The Godfather of Generative Art Goes Global](https://decrypt.co/151933/godfather-generative-art-goes-global-casey-reas), Decrypt
- 2022: [In Conversation with Casey REAS on Pre-Process](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/pre-process-by-casey-reas.md), Art Blocks
- 2021: [In Conversation with Casey REAS on CENTURY](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/century-by-casey-reas.md), Art Blocks

## Milestones

- 2001: [Creates the Processing programming language with Ben Fry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casey_Reas)
- 2003: [Joins UCLA's Design Media Arts faculty](https://decrypt.co/151933/godfather-generative-art-goes-global-casey-reas)
- 2004: [The Whitney publishes {Software} Structures, its artport commission](https://whitney.org/collection/works/23923), Whitney Museum of American Art
- 2011: [The V&A and the Centre Pompidou acquire Process works](https://www.centrepompidou.fr/fr/ressources/oeuvre/cGzEbg)
- 2012: [Co-founds the Processing Foundation](https://reas.com/info)
- 2019: [Releases his first NFT, the video Latent Images 1.1](https://reas.com/nfts)
- 2020: [Co-founds Feral File, a website where digital art is shown and sold to collectors](https://reas.com/info)
- 2021: [Releases CENTURY on Art Blocks Curated, 1,000 works](https://reas.com/nfts), Art Blocks
- 2023: [LACMA commissions and shows An Empty Room, an installation made for Coded: Art Enters the Computer Age](https://reas.com/exhibitions), Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
- 2023: [Collectors mint 923 EMPTY ROOMS live in six cities over six days](https://reas.com/exhibitions), Bright Moments

## Links

- [reas.com](https://reas.com)
- [X](https://x.com/REAS)
- [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/reas)
- [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casey_Reas)
- [docs.google.com](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BaK31_kDwUv81SFcsyMeolTYYHGBMlMHJ1fDIVbvy3k/edit?usp=sharing)

Data from GONDI (https://www.gondi.xyz), Oct 28, 2026.