Mark Napier
1961–
Mark Napier (b. 1961; Springfield, New Jersey), began creating artwork exclusively for the web in 1995. He has produced a wide range of internet projects, including The Shredder (1998), an alternative browser that dematerializes the web; Digital Landfill (1998), an endless archive of digital debris; and Bots (2000), a tool for building unique pop-culture icons from parts. Napier has created commissioned projects for the Guggenheim Museum, New York (2002); the exhibition 010101 (2001) at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; and Data Dynamics (2001) at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. His browser Riot was included in the 2002 Whitney Biennial. He has also shown his work at ZKM Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe, Germany, and the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, and received an honorable mention from Prix Ars Electronica (1999).
Introduction
Mark Napier is an early adopter of the web and a pioneer of digital and Internet art (net.art) in the United States, known for creating interactive online artwork that challenges traditional definitions of art. He uses code as an expressive form, and the Internet as his exhibition space and laboratory. Napier developed his first web-based applications for financial data in 1996. He is the author of his own website, potatoland.org, his online studio where many of his net artworks can be found, such as Shredder 1.0, net.flag, Riot, etc.
Wikidata identifier
Q3294193
Information from Wikipedia, made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License . Accessed April 18, 2026.
Country of birth
United States
Roles
Artist, computer artist, computer programmer, digital artist, painter, photographer, software developer
ULAN identifier
500355836
Names
Mark Napier
Information from the Getty Research Institute's Union List of Artist Names ® (ULAN), made available under the ODC Attribution License. Accessed April 18, 2026.
Exhibitions & projects
artport
View more on artport, the Whitney Museum's portal to Internet and new media art.