A retrospective exhibition of 50 years of vision, technology & innovation by digital art pioneer Laurence Gartel.
History Fort Lauderdale is proud to present “GARTEL: The Digital Art Revolution – 50 Years of Vision, Technology & Innovation,” a retrospective exhibition by digital art pioneer Laurence Gartel, from December 3 – January 24, 2027, at the New River Inn History Museum. The exhibit will also serve as History Fort Lauderdale’s Art Basel travel partnership opportunity. An opening reception with light bites and refreshments and an opportunity to meet Gartel will take place on Thursday, December 3, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Guests may register at (need Eventbrite link).
“Laurence Gartel is a true visionary who fundamentally changed how we define the boundaries between fine art and commercial design,” said Patricia Zeiler, executive director of History Fort Lauderdale. “This retrospective is a rare and thrilling opportunity to showcase not only his iconic digital masterpieces but also the rare ephemera and advertising work that charted the course for the modern digital landscape. We are incredibly honored to showcase his 50-plus-year career tracing the lineage of a pioneer who saw the future of art in a computer screen long before the rest of the world.”The colorful, engaging exhibit celebrates the life and works of Fort Lauderdale resident Gartel. From pioneering computer-generated imagery to artificial intelligence, robotics, and the next frontier of digital art, visitors will be treated to the extraordinary journey of an artist who helped redefine the relationship between art and technology.
The exhibition will be set up in four rooms – Robotic Paintings 2025/2026, Artificial Intelligence 2025/2026, GARTEL Media Blitz including 50 years of commissioned promotional ephemera and books including ABSOLUT GARTEL for Absolut Vodka, (1991); Forbes magazine cover (1989); “Think different” ad for Apple Computers commissioned by Steve Jobs (1997); Disney Millennium Image (2000); 57th annual Grammy Awards (2015); Coca Cola Atlanta Olympics (1996); Newport Jazz Festival (2015); Miami International Airport Lightbox installation (1996); and Historic Works from the 1970s and Beyond including GARTEL’s Laurence Gartel: A Cybernetic Romance (Gibbs Smith, Utah), Warhol vs. Gartel Hyp Pop (Lucca Museum, Italy), Artificial Intelligence and Robots, (GARTEL published) and Obsession (GARTEL published).
Innovative and eclectic artist Laurence Gartel is a pioneer of the digital creative medium. His work has been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, Joan Whitney Payson Museum, Long Beach Museum of Art, Princeton Art Museum, PS 1, Norton Museum, Palm Beach Photographic Center and resides in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of American History and the Bibliothèque Nationale.