Vera Molnar (b. 1924 – d. 2023) is one of the pioneers of computer and algorithmic arts. Trained as a traditional artist, Molnar studied for a diploma in art history and aesthetics at the Budapest College of Fine Arts. She iterated combinatorial images from as early as 1959. In 1968, she began working with computers, where she began to create algorithmic paintings based on simple geometric shapes and geometrical themes.

In the 1960s, Molnar was a founding member of two artist collectives: GRAV (Groupe de Recherche d’Art Visuel) a collaborative that expanded the boundaries of kinetic and optical art, and Art et Informatique, the focus of which was algorithmic art and color variables. Molnar learned the early programming languages of Fortran and Basic, and gained access to a computer at a research lab in Paris, where she began to make computer graphics drawings on a plotter. 

Vera Molnar’s works have been widely exhibited around the world, and her works reside in public collections, including but not limited to: Centre Pompidou, Paris; The National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; The Morgan Library & Museum, New York.