At first glance, math and art might seem like opposites—one ruled by logic, the other by emotion. But at the Bridges Conference, held this July at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, that boundary dissolved into something breathtakingly beautiful. More than 400 creators gathered to celebrate a shared truth: math is not just a tool—it’s a muse.
Math as the Artist’s Muse
For Dutch sculptor Rinus Roelofs, math isn’t just numbers on a page—it’s the heartbeat of his art. “I do not call my art ‘mathematical art,’” Roelofs said in a recent interview. “It’s art about mathematics. Every artist has a favorite subject. For me, that’s math.”
His latest creation, “Dancing Cubes,” stood eight feet tall and weighed half a ton—a stunning fusion of geometry, engineering, and poetic form. Built from just two repeating elements—a right-angled triangle (30 copies) and a rounded triangular variation (12 copies)—the sculpture only holds together because each piece relies on the other. “If you take away one, the sculpture will fall apart,” Roelofs explained.
The Magic of Duality in Art and Math
At the core of “Dancing Cubes” is the mathematical concept of duality—a relationship where one shape can generate another. For example, a cube and an octahedron are duals: swap faces for vertices, and you transform one into the other.
But Roelofs doesn’t stop at textbook examples. He twists, rounds, and reimagines these relationships using his own technique—extrusion transformation—to create works that feel alive. Small cubes appear along the sculpture’s central axis when assembled, a “little surprise,” as he calls it.
Beyond Roelofs: A Gallery of Mathematical Wonder
The Bridges Conference isn’t just about one artist—it’s a global showcase of creativity rooted in calculation. This year’s exhibition featured 184 submissions, each a testament to how deeply math and art intertwine.
Highlights from the Exhibition
- “Gradient of Grain” by Edmund Harriss (University of Arkansas): A wooden cross-section carved by algorithm along the tree’s natural grain, showing how material and math converse.
- “Spherical Hinged Tessellation feat. TMK122” by Kanata Warisaya (University of Tokyo): A squeezable, stress-relief sphere born from computational origami.
- “Scissor Tessellation” by Seri Nishimoto: 48 scissor-like units forming a curved surface through precise repetition.
- “Fabric Hexaflexagon” by Jill Borcherds (UK): A colorful, foldable textile that reveals hidden faces—used to spark wonder in math classrooms.
- “Doo-dah” by John Winston Garth: A digital lifeform discovered in Conway’s Game of Life, illustrating emergent complexity from simple rules.
- “Expanding (3, 4, 5) Triangle” by Henry Segerman (Oklahoma State): A kinetic sculpture that grows and shrinks while maintaining perfect proportions.
- “Square Root of Two” by David Reimann: An algorithmic topiary where the irrational number’s digits bloom in the negative space of a root system beneath a giant numeral 2.
Why This Matters
These works do more than dazzle—they challenge our assumptions. Math isn’t cold or rigid when seen through the lens of art. It’s dynamic, emotional, and deeply human. As retired teacher Jill Borcherds put it: “So often I have witnessed the sense of wonder appearing when the third face of a hexaflexagon appears.”
That sense of wonder is exactly what the Bridges Conference cultivates. It’s where PhDs in architecture and mathematics (like Roelofs, who earned his dual doctorate at age 66) stand alongside students, coders, woodworkers, and educators—all united by a belief that beauty lives in equations as much as in brushstrokes.
Table: Featured Artists and Their Mathematical Inspirations
| Artist | Work | Mathematical Concept |
|---|---|---|
| Rinus Roelofs | Dancing Cubes | Duality, extrusion transformation |
| Edmund Harriss | Gradient of Grain | Algorithmic carving, material gradients |
| Kanata Warisaya | Spherical Hinged Tessellation | Computational origami, tessellation |
| Henry Segerman | Expanding (3,4,5) Triangle | Kinematic geometry, gear systems |
| David Reimann | Square Root of Two | Irrational numbers, algorithmic design |
Looking Ahead
As AI and digital fabrication reshape creative fields, the fusion of math and art is more relevant than ever. The Bridges Conference proves that rigor and imagination aren’t opposites—they’re collaborators.
And for artists like Rinus Roelofs, that collaboration isn’t just a practice—it’s a life’s purpose.
