Born in Hungary, Vera Molnár started creating art at the the tender age of eight and then went on to graduate from the Hungarian University of Fine Arts specializing in aesthetics and art history in 1946 (Wikipedia Contributors). A year after graduating, at the age of 23 Molnár then moved to Paris where she found herself among like-minded abstract and constructivist artists who shared her passion and nurtured her curiosity, it was at this time in her life that she decided she wanted to find a more rational way to approach her art and try her hands at visual art on the computer. 

Molnár was a visionary to the extent that she was decades ahead of her time, so much so that when she first wanted to try her hand at visual art on the computer it didn’t work. However in 1968 when the University of Paris introduced their calculations program she approached the director of the computing center and went on to tell him about her vision of making visual art on the computer. Although she sensed that he was taken aback by her unconventional concept, he ultimately agreed to explore it further (Sotheby's). 

Reflecting on that pivotal moment, Molnár later remarked, "I plucked up the courage between my two hands" (Sotheby's), highlighting her determination to pursue her groundbreaking vision despite the initial skepticism.

This moment was revolutionary for Molnár as the imaginary machine she had always dreamed of in her mind (and had named the machine imaginaire) was now something she could actually see and use: it was real.

Molnár would then go on to work with computers and produce algorithmic paintings based on simple geometric shapes and geometrical themes (Wikipedia Contributors). In 1976 she had her first solo exhibition, “Transformations,” at the Concourse Gallery, Polytechnic of Central London, featuring her computer graphics (“An Interview with Vera Molnar”). 

What makes Molnár so extraordinary is that she was creating digital art long before it even became a recognized concept, laying down the foundation for modern artistic concepts such as generative art and design. Had it not been for her curiosity and courage to go against those who thought she was "ruining art by taking such an artificial approach to something that was so fundamentally human" (“Dossier: Vera Molnar—Weaving Variations”) the modern landscape of digital art that we now create and have access to might not have taken shape. 

Vera Molnár passed away in December of 2023, one month shy of her hundredth birthday. However, in a full circle moment two years before her passing Vera created a series of NFTs entitled “2% de désordre en co-opération” (2% of disorder in cooperation) at the age of 98. 

“An Interview with Vera Molnar.” Www.rightclicksave.com, www.rightclicksave.com/article/an-interview-with-vera-molnar.

“Dossier: Vera Molnar—Weaving Variations.” HOLO, 2022, www.holo.mg/dossiers/vera-molnar-weaving-variations/. Accessed 1 May 2025.

Sotheby's. “Generative Art Exploration Chapter v: the Life and Work of Vera Molnár.” YouTube, 7 July 2023, www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tNESHtfkr0. Accessed 1 May 2025.

Wikipedia Contributors. “Vera Molnár.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 25 Dec. 2022, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vera_Moln%C3%A1r.