This May, Bantam Tools' Machine Arts Gallery is proud to present a solo exhibition by Paul Rickards, an artist and engineer who brings vintage pen plotters back to life. Using custom Python code and decades-old machines, Rickards creates algorithmic drawings that blend mechanical precision with the unpredictable beauty of ink on paper. Influenced by pioneers of 1970s computer art, his work bridges digital logic and analog expression—code becomes craft as robots take pen to paper.

The exhibition features a new body of work exploring Tangled Quads and Truchet Tiles.

Tangled Quads is rooted in the logic of quadtrees, a data structure where each square recursively subdivides into smaller squares, creating layered geometric scapes. Rickards shades these forms using CMY hatch patterns—rotated, offset, and layered—producing textures that shift between strict order and spontaneous gesture. The result is an effect somewhere between aerial cartography, woven textiles, and noise patterns born of digital chance.

Truchet Tiles, on the other hand, play with repetition and rotation. A simple quarter-arc shape, placed at random orientations across a grid, gives rise to intricate paths and flowing, maze-like compositions. Depending on the tile size, the works oscillate between graphic intensity and bold minimalism—like coded tapestries or schematic subway maps.

Each piece is a one-of-a-kind 1/1 work, hand-selected by the artist from hundreds of algorithmic variations and plotted using a mix of vintage machines and Bantam Tools ArtFrame™ plotters. The medium: pigmented acrylic inks on heavy 140lb cold press watercolor paper.

On view through May at Bantam Tools Machine Arts Gallery

Opening Reception
May 3rd, 4PM – 6PM
Meet the artist and see the machines draw.

Location
Bantam Tools Machine Arts Gallery
107 S Division St, Peekskill, NY 10566
Open Fridays through Sundays, 10AM–6PM