Image: bitforms gallery, New York
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen has opened ‘Pixel Pioneers’, its first major exhibition devoted entirely to digital art. Presented at The Depot in Rotterdam, the exhibition examines how artists have used digital technologies to experiment, critique existing systems and reshape visual culture over the past several decades. It opened on 25 April 2026 and is now in its final weeks, closing on 13 September 2026, across Gallery II on the fourth floor and Gallery III on the fifth.
The exhibition is organized around artists who approached technology as more than a technical instrument. According to the museum, the works treat digital systems as mediums for aesthetic innovation, political reflection and social engagement. The presentation brings together key works and new commissions by artists including Geert Mul (b. 1965, Netherlands), Suzanne Treister (b. 1958, United Kingdom), Claudia Hart (b. 1955, United States), Feng Mengbo (b. 1966, China) and Christopher Kulendran Thomas, tracing distinct approaches to image-making, interactive environments, data, gaming and technological infrastructures.
At the center of the exhibition is ‘Horizons’ (2008), an interactive installation by Dutch artist Geert Mul. The work draws on more than 200 works from the museum’s collection, each containing a horizon, and combines them into a projected landscape. The landscape changes in response to visitors’ movements. ‘Horizons’ has not been shown since it was commissioned nearly two decades ago and was restored specifically for the Rotterdam presentation.
The restoration also places questions of digital preservation within the exhibition itself. The museum describes ‘Horizons’ as a work that challenges the assumption that technology-based artworks are stable over time. Its operation depends on digital systems, making the question of what should be conserved part of the work’s presentation. The installation therefore functions both as a collection-based anchor and as an example of the practical difficulties involved in maintaining digital art.
The second gallery expands the historical and technical range of the show. Suzanne Treister is represented by works from her ‘Hexen’ series, which maps hidden technological, financial and power structures. Claudia Hart presents ‘Empire Failure’, a wall-painting installation that folds cryptocurrency symbols and corporate logos into an immersive environment, reimagining failed cryptocurrencies as the ruins of a technological empire. Hart, who began working with 3D animation in the late 1990s, has continued to explore computing, simulation, virtual imaging and related forms of digital production in her media installations and projections.
Feng Mengbo contributes ‘Long March: Restart’, a playable video game that restages Chinese revolutionary history through the visual language of retro gaming. The exhibition’s selection also includes work that ranges from algorithmically generated painting to a video game projected across 17 metres, according to accompanying exhibition material. Together, the works occupy two galleries in The Depot, the publicly accessible collection building of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen at Museumpark 24. ‘Pixel Pioneers’ can be visited with a Depot ticket, Tuesday through Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., until 13 September 2026.
The exhibition is supported by the VriendenLoterij, Mondriaan Fonds, Fonds 21, Stichting Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen through a contribution from the estate of Rine Coolen–Kalkman, and the Municipality of Rotterdam.
