Each month, Bright Moments invites artists to create an open-edition collection, providing an accessible way for new collectors to mint generative art.

For the month of March, Bright Moments selected 'Somnia Stellae' by Baret LaVida. This collection is inspired by Lorenza Gherardi, a fictional Italian artist based in the 1500s.

Hosted on Highlight, powered by Base, and exhibited on Foundation.

1549. In the serenity of Valdarno, a discreet village in the outskirts of Florence, Lorenzo Gherardi closes his eyes for the last time at the age of 72. His life, marked by a tangible economic misfortune, concludes without any of his creations having left his studio.

However, the echo of his genius remains alive thanks to Bianca Elena Gherardi, his daughter, who emerges as the indispensable custodian of his artistic legacy, trying to ensure her father's unique vision found posthumous recognition.

Born in the heart of Florence in 1477, Master Lorenzo Gherardi dedicated much of his life to art, always on the brink of anonymity.

Distanced from the recognition and acclaim that filled his contemporaries, he found in astronomy—a passion inherited from his father, Giuliano Gherardi, a distinguished astronomer—and in painting, a personal sanctuary and an unparalleled medium of expression.

His main work stands out as a testament to his almost naive perception of the possibilities beyond the astronomical knowledge of his time, a canvas that captures his fascination and wonder at the universe.

Through his work, Gherardi invites us on a journey through the enigmas and desires of the cosmos, using his art to inquire and theorize about possible celestial territories yet unveiled. In it, he reflects his personal and pure interpretation of the astral splendors as he imagined them, as he dreamed them.

Despite having been forgotten, his legacy prefigured methodologies and perspectives that, over the centuries, other artists would come to consolidate, demonstrating his avant-garde spirit and his ability to transcend the barriers of his time.

Five centuries later, his collection Somnia Stellae, arrives as generative art.

Master Gherardi carefully designed 11 color palettes, each with its own narrative and symbolism, reflecting different aspects of his vision and emotions.

These palettes, composed in turn by a range of meticulously selected colors, from cheerful and vibrant tones to subtle and deep shades, serve as the emotional canvas upon which he unfolded the stories of each work.

Lorenzo Gherardi's artwork plunges into the majesty of the cosmos, but it goes beyond the mere representation of known constellations. With a bold Renaissance spirit, Gherardi let his imagination soar to create "celestial assemblies," a term he coined for his innovative stellar configurations.

These not only mimic the arrangement of galaxies but also explore the infinite possibilities of the universe, merging astronomical observation and artistic creativity in a sublime dialogue between the sky and the canvas.

The movement of all the artwork in a controlled way, generates an atmosphere of weightlessness.

It is an eternal movement, so that the work will perpetually vary whether it is being executed or not. This will make the artworks, while maintaining the spirit of the artwork at the moment of the mint, evolve, varying in an unpredictable but controlled way. When you run your artwork, you will see the movement fully synchronized on all your devices, in a synchronous and zero gravity dance.

b. 1978 Baret LaVida is an engineer, designer and generative artist based in Spain. Passionate about music, photography and astronomy, in 2021 he fell down the rabbit hole of generative art and has not been able to escape since. He has published various generative art projects exploring the beauty of shapes and colors and has completed commissioned generative art projects. In his latest collection, he delves into the work of an obscure Renaissance artist who, like him, had a passion for the cosmos.