La Gran Nit

In a continuous effort to unite the physical world with the digital world, Xavier Hernández, passionate about gastronomy and founder of The Generative Art Museum, brought together the Mas Gelí winery and Lars Wander. A union that occurred after discovering Lars work in depth following the exhibition Issue #05: World Wide Art, at the TGAM museum in the metaverse.

In particular, there was one project of Lars that caught Xavier's attention in particular, called "how you see me", according to the artist:

I’m fascinated by our minds ability to pull meaningful figures, narratives, and personas from randomly arranged shapes and colors. “how you see me” explores this phenomena (called “pareidolia”) through a series of computer-generated, human-curated digital artworks.

Each piece is generated purely with code. The code simulates the action of gently stirring blobs of paint via a series of randomly applied strokes. Colors are computed via Kubelka-Munk theory, using spectral coefficients derived from Golden Heavy Body Acrylics provided by the lab of Roy Berns.

The Wine has been nine months in granite egg. To the eye, it is clean and bright, with a straw yellow color of medium intensity. To the nose, it is fresh, dynamic and citrusy. On the palate, its persistent acidity stands out. The fact that it is made from granite eggs gives it that characteristic electric touch, ideal for those who like to be surprised. Minimal intervention wine.

Lars Wander is a computer artist and programmer who exclusively creates art using code. His creative process involves spending significant time contemplating and sketching ideas for intriguing software systems. He establishes a set of rules that serve as the sole human input in generating each piece. By evaluating these rules, the machine generates unique and unpredictable outcomes

In Wander's creative approach, he emphasizes the importance of simple tools and often designs and constructs his own. He believes that the tools he uses greatly influence the final result of his artwork. Consequently, producing and maintaining his own tools is a source of joy for Lars. He employs vanilla Javascript and WebGL2 to generate his artwork.

To maintain simplicity, Lars uses a local HTTP server to serve unbundled Javascript and incorporate shared and developed libraries across projects. He favors working on Linux due to its programmer-friendly environment.

For plotter projects, Wander initially used Python but later switched to Julia, a high-performance language developed at MIT for scientific computing. This transition was necessary to address performance issues while ensuring ease of development.

Mas Geli is a family project born from the illusion of making a wine that expresses the essence of a territory. Located in the Masos de Pals, a privileged place near the massifs of Begur and Montgrí. Likewise, the sand and limestone soil, as well as its proximity to the sea and the microclimate of the area, give the wines produced to have their own personality.

With passion and a radiant smile, Anna is the soul of Mas Geli. She left behind a promising artistic career to immerse himself in the world of wine. This change of direction led her to study sommelier at CETT (Barcelona) while working at the restaurant Disfrutar, today considered the best restaurant in the world.

After completing her training in Barcelona, Anna decided to follow her family’s dream: to plant vines in Pals, on land where vines were already grown in the past. In 2014, together with her brother Lluís, they started this adventure when they were only 19 and 21 years old.

Lluís is a musician and has been trained in film soundtrack composition, as well as in conducting orchestras and choirs. It is for this reason that he is responsible for the Mas Geli Fest festival, bringing his experience and passion for music to this festival so recognized by the winery.

In Mas Geli’s vineyard, native varieties of the DO Empordà are cultivated, following organic and regenerative farming practices, treating the vineyard like a home garden, with exceptional dedication and care.

In order to take care of a garden, you have to be present. Thus, the brothers decided to live next to the vineyard, making sure that each vine received the attention and affection it deserved. Today and every day we work with the illusion and dedication that future generations can follow this project.