Las Vegas Weekly

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Brian Henry returns to Trifecta this month with another installment of his ongoing Machina Ex Machina series, titled Mens et Manus. The interdisciplinary artist fuses design with technology to produce what he calls “generative parametric works.” The works are produced by machines guided by computer programs written by Henry.

Exhibit attendees can watch the art being made as the Las Vegas native authors the programs to create different designs. Some are optical (using LED televisions, projectors and computer monitors), while others are physical (sculptures made of aluminum and wood, along with prints).

The optical machines—Henry calls them “immortal”—are programmed to produce an infinite number of one-of-a-kind works. “Somebody might come in and see a specific series from the immortal machines, and that’s never going to happen again,” he says. “That was a special moment that’s impossible to occur twice.”

The physical machines—or, as you probably guessed, the “mortals”—can construct thousands of works, constrained only by the physical limitations of the material objects. “I like the idea that each experience is a unique one,” Henry says. “Every time somebody comes to engage with these things they will be behaving in a different way.”