By Futurist Thomas Frey

By 2040, the frontier of human creativity has shifted from the digital to the biological. The most provocative art movement of the century isn’t found in galleries filled with paintings or screens displaying NFTs—it’s in biolabs, greenhouses, and microscopic petri dishes where living art is literally grown, not made. Artists have become genetic composers, crafting DNA sequences instead of brushstrokes, using CRISPR and synthetic biology to sculpt life itself into form, color, and motion. The result? Art that breathes, evolves, and eventually dies.

This new movement—often called BioArt Renaissance—emerged from a fusion of biotech and creativity. Artists now program genetic code the way previous generations programmed software.

A collector might purchase “art seeds”—genetically encoded capsules containing the instructions for a living sculpture. Once activated, the organism begins to grow, responding to environmental cues, emotional signals, or even music. Some grow into translucent floral architectures. Others are bioluminescent organisms that pulse in rhythm with your heartbeat. The boundary between artist, scientist, and gardener has completely dissolved.

In this world, art isn’t an object to own; it’s a relationship to maintain. You don’t hang it on the wall—you feed it, nurture it, and occasionally prune it. Artworks change with time, season, and care. Some even “age” intentionally, fading or morphing until they perish, leaving behind nothing but digital DNA archives and emotional memories. Every piece becomes a living metaphor for impermanence. Insurance companies now classify these works as “perishable assets,” assigning depreciation values not for wear and tear, but for expected lifespan.

Museums have evolved into living terrariums. Instead of hushed halls filled with motionless displays, they hum with the sound of air filtration systems and nutrient pumps. Curators partner with molecular biologists to keep collections alive, balancing artistry with bioethics. A single exhibit might include hundreds of living entities—each genetically unique, each following its own aesthetic trajectory. Viewers don’t just observe; they interact. Breathing near a sculpture changes its chemistry. Touching it triggers pigment shifts. Some pieces grow only when spoken to. The audience becomes part of the life cycle.

The marketplace for biological art has exploded. By 2040, global sales of bioengineered art exceed $18 billion annually. The most expensive piece ever sold—a genetically modified bonsai tree engineered to grow in infinite fractal patterns—was purchased by a Singaporean tech magnate for $312 million. Its lifespan? Exactly 100 years. After that, its DNA sequence self-destructs, ensuring no clone can ever exist. This combination of temporal beauty and absolute uniqueness has redefined artistic value.

What’s perhaps most fascinating is how this art form transforms our relationship to ownership and mortality. Collectors describe profound emotional attachment—not just to the beauty of their living artwork, but to its dependency. When a piece withers or mutates unexpectedly, it evokes grief, reflection, and even guilt. Artists intentionally design uncertainty into their creations, forcing participants to confront the fragility of life itself. Every death becomes part of the exhibit. Every mutation, a collaboration between creator, collector, and environment.

Philosophers debate whether this is art or artificial evolution. Religious leaders question whether humanity has crossed a sacred threshold by using DNA as an artistic medium. But for a generation raised in a hybrid world of synthetic intelligence and biological innovation, bioart feels inevitable—a logical progression from virtual creativity to living expression. Art no longer imitates life. It is life.

Final Thoughts
By 2040, the greatest museums will look more like botanical sanctuaries than marble temples. Artists will no longer ask “What can I paint?” but “What can I grow?” Biological art represents not just a new medium, but a new philosophy of creation—one that blurs the line between aesthetic experience and ecological participation. As humanity learns to sculpt with genes instead of pigments, we may rediscover something profound: that true creativity has always been alive.

Original Article: Biological Art Becomes the Dominant Medium—You Don’t View It, You Grow It
Related Reading:

• Living Paintings: How Scientists Are Using Cells as a Creative Canvas
• When Art Breathes: The Rise of Synthetic Life in the Creative World