How pixel art of the early web inspires John Provencher’s design work

Graphic designer, artist, and educator John Provencher is making waves in the New York design scene. His work is, simply put: incredibly unique. It’s exciting, tantalising, different and pulsating with life. It’s no wonder he’s inspired by the likes of John Cage, a chance operations maestro, and the pioneers of early net-art who tinkered with HTML and JavaScript within web browsers. John’s work is embedded deep into the rich physicality of the internet, taking pixel art and code to a new artistic level. Presently, his “current practice explores the generative nature of software as a tool to output works both on/offline through the form of art collections, exhibitions and select commissions,” he tells It's Nice That, not too far off from what inspired the early visuals of PC Music. “I draw from my past as a graphic designer to create systems for variation,” he adds.

Recently, John has also dived deep into algorithms and pixel manipulation. He's fixated on the history of pixel art – think early web vibes, video games, and printing – when pixel play was a necessity due to screen limits. But for John, these vintage techniques aren’t stumbling blocks; instead, they launch daring experiments that pay homage to the past while shaping the future.