Christine Romanell: Can Digital Art Become Real?

What happens when an artwork begins inside a computer—but the artist needs to bring it into the physical world? In this episode of The Artist Remains, artist and curator P.E. Pinkman talks with New Jersey–based artist Christine Romanel about the intersection of technology, sacred geometry, science, spirituality and the handmade. Christine’s intricate works begin as digital drawings inspired by circular patterns, cosmology and sacred geometry. From there, she uses laser cutting, 3D printing, ceramics, painting and painstaking hand assembly to transform those digital forms into physical objects. Our conversation explores the fascinating territory between the digital and physical: What changes when something that exists on a screen becomes an object we can encounter with our bodies? What does the artist’s hand contribute when machines are deeply involved in making the work? And what happens to that relationship as artificial intelligence becomes increasingly present in art? Christine also discusses the Penrose pattern, quasi-crystals, the relationship between science and spirituality, meditation, the experience of awe, and why she believes physical objects still offer something a screen cannot replicate. And near the end of our conversation, she offers a wonderfully provocative thought: “Being an artist is your best chance at immortality.” The Artist Remains explores creativity, consciousness, authenticity and human connection in an age increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence. Hosted by artist and curator P.E. Pinkman.