"Quantum Abyss 1", by Cris Orfescu: nanosculpture (sculpture at molecular and atomic levels) created by casting a mixture of polymers, Copper nanoparticles and Carbon microparticles on glass. The stucture has been visualized with a scanning electron microscope. The final image was captured in a computer, digitally manipulated, and printed on premium photo luster paper with archival inks specially formulated to last for a long time.

For the first time in Israel, in November last year, NanoIsrael 2010 was hosting an exhibition of works of art based on nanotechnology. Epson sponsored the exhibition and provided prizes for the top three selected works, as judged by a jury of experts in the arts and sciences.

The exhibition was held during the NanoIsrael 2010 Conference and Exhibition at the Dan Panorama Hotel in Tel Aviv, on 8-9 November, 2010. Prizes were awarded during the closing ceremony on 9th November.

I have been invited to exhibit as guest artist. The artworks were printed by Epson from my digital files and after the show, the artworks were donated to different Universities in Israel to promote the NanoArt, Nanoscience, and Nanotechnology.

""Quantum Tunneling", by Orfescu

Passion for Knowledge is a festival that brings world leading scientists and humanists together from different disciplines and cultures to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Donostia International Physics Center under the commitment for progress of science driven by the love for knowledge. Along with highlighting the thirst for knowledge as the driving force behind scientific, technological and cultural progress, the festival aims to expand the debate and to engage the society in the celebration, and is spread out to different venues in the entire city of San Sebastian. The festival comprises a number of outreach activities such as encounters, exhibitions, seminars and contests with the objective of promoting science as a cultural activity, establishing connections between scientists and citizens, and fostering the participation of the public in the dissemination of science.

The NanoArt21 exhibition (http://www.dipc10.eu/en/the-city/passion_for_art) was open from September 20 to October 10, 2010. The exhibition curated by Cris Orfescu (USA) and Igor Campillo Santos (Spain) features 2D, video, and multimedia works authored by 31 worldwide Top 10 artists at 4 editions of the NanoArt International Online Competition: Imamedin Amiraslan (Azerbaijan), Daniela Caceta, Maria Matheus, Ricardo Tranquilin (Brazil), Bjoern Daempfling, Jan Schmoranzer (Germany), Gilberto Sossella, Simone Battiston (Italy), Teresa Majerus (Luxemburg), Pilar Azuara (Mexico), Han Halewijn (Netherlands), Elena Lucia Constantinescu (Romania), Janko Jelenc, Teja Krasek (Slovenia), Frances Geesin, Leonel Marques (UK), Anna Ursyn, Carol Flaitz, Chris Robinson, Cris Orfescu, Darcy Lewis, David Derr, David Hylton, Janis Kirstein, Jean Constant, Linda Alterwitz, Lisa Black, Patrick Millard, Shruti Gour, Deeraj Roy, Steven Pollard (USA). After the show, the artworks will be exhibited in different research centers in San Sebastian city: nanoGUNE, DIPC, the Faculty of Chemistry…

NanoArt21 was founded by the scientist and artist Cris Orfescu, to promote NanoArt throughout the world as a reflection of the technological development. Orfescu considers that NanoArt is a more attractive and effective way of communicating with the general public in order to provide information on the new technologies of the 21st Century. NanoArt aims to raise the awareness of the general public with regard to nanotechnology and its impact on our lives.

“NanoArt is a new art discipline at the art-science-technology intersections. It features nanolandscapes (molecular and atomic landscapes which are natural structures of matter at molecular and atomic scales) and nanosculptures (structures created by scientists and artists by manipulating matter at molecular and atomic scales using chemical and physical processes). These structures are visualized with powerful research tools like scanning electron microscopes and atomic force microscopes and their scientific images are captured and further processed by using different artistic techniques to convert them into artworks showcased for large audiences.” (Cris Orfescu)

"NanoFlower", nanosculpture by Cris Orfescu

The NanoArtK12 (TM) program has been launched by NanoArt21 in collaboration with The Nanotechnology Group. The purpose of this worldwide program is to support the education of the new generations of artists and scientists and to promote the art-science-technology intersections and NanoArt for a better youth development. Please read about NanoArt here.

Before you start your NanoArt project, we suggest you download the Nanoscience Interactive Learning Module for NanoArtK12TM Program prepared by Judith LightFeather, founder of The Nanotechnology Group. You will find plenty of nano-related information by following the links. Also, you could click on these links to read about Nanotechnology and NanoArt. And if you would like to have more fun while you are learning about nanotechnology click on these links to play the games NanoQuest and NanoPool. You must have Adobe Shockwave installed on your computer to be able to play the games. You can install it for free if you click here.

"Stretching the Limits 1", nanosculpture by Orfescu

The NanoArt 2009 – 2010 International Exhibition featuring 154 artworks submitted by 48 artists representing 16 countries is now officially open. A record number of works related to Nanoscience and Nanotechnology are displayed in the NanoArt21 Online Gallery. All artworks were submitted to the 4th edition of the NanoArt International Online Competition. I noticed at this time a triple record number of participation in artworks as well as artists and countries. This is a good indication of the amplitude of the NanoArt movement and the major progress made by this new art discipline in the last few years.

The worldwide competition NanoArt International Online is open every year to all artists 18 years and older. The judges for this edition are:
Dr. Pilar Irala (PhD, History of Art), world renowned photographer, expert on contemporary art, photography, and new technologies, and member of the International Association of Art Critics; apart from her activity as international photographer, Art critic and curator, she is currently Professor of Photography and Contemporary Art at San Jorge University (Spain) and co-director of the contemporary photography and music ensemble animAMusicae.
Guillermo Muñoz, physicist and PhD candidate in Photonics working in the field of Nanotechnology at Material Science Institute of Valencia University (Spain); he is part of the ‘Piratas de la Ciencia’ science communication group and is working as moderator for the international Art and Science network ‘Yasmin’; recently, he curated the NanoArt exhibition ‘Nanoconfluencias: miradas artísticas hacia lo infinitamente pequeño’.

The Top 10 artists will be presented in a multimedia work by Cris Orfescu on NanoArt21 site (you can still view the last edition winners on this site). Also, the winners of the competition will be invited to the 3rd edition of the International Festival of NanoArt to be held in San Sebastian, Spain, in September this year. The first two editions of the festival were held in Finland and Germany.