Matter tries to understand the ideas behind numbers and discover beauty in it

Mathematics are not trying to memorize tables or solve complex problems with decimals, but to understand the ideas behind numbers, ask questions and discover beauty in themSaid Aubin Arroyo, mathematician and visual artist.

Since 2016, the professor and researcher at the Institute of Mathematics, Cuernavaca Unit, of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) has been dedicated to transforming mathematical formulas or postulates into digital visualizations.

Interviewed in the context of International Mathematics Day (DIM) 2025, whose motto this year is Mathematics, Art and CreativityArroyo explained that his works seeks to build a bridge between people and the science of numbers.

What theorems am I seeing?

“When people meet my work and discover that there are mathematics in it, they are not afraid to approach and ask questions. They tell me curious: ‘Are there mathematics? What theorems am I seeing? Why do they appear like this? ‘ These questions open the door to this discipline, something that does not happen at school, where when you hear from numbers the first thing that arises is rejection, ”he said.

From aesthetics, the questions arise honestly and genuinely. They discover that mathematics is not only complicated operations with decimal point, but there are deep ideas behind. So that door opens, the perception changes.

Differential equations

Among the figures that Arroyo has resumed to create his works are concepts such as wild knots, differential equations, the butterfly effect on chaos theory, equations of three variables, and the limit sets of groups of groups.

Some of these pieces are exposed in the Mathematical Imaginary Room, of Universum, the Museum of Sciences of the UNAM. Others have been exhibited at the Kirchner Cultural Center (CCK), in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and in the Museum of Fine Arts in Paris.

From its collection, a series stands out where structures formed by highly reflective metal spheres can be observed, in golden and silver tones. Entreated harmoniously, structures have detailed reflexes that create a visual effect that suggests a mathematical or geometric pattern.

There is a great diversity of concepts and some are more feasible to visually represent than others. There begins the creative part, where you have to fly the imagination and ask yourself: how do I see it? How do I imagine? How do I reproduce it? How do I make it striking and resonate in the mind of whoever observes it?.

To materialize these concepts, Arroyo uses programming. At first he worked with software Free use, but last years he has decided to make his code from scratch. The biggest process challenge is to make the images carry all the load of both mathematics and aestheticshe pointed out.

Since he began creating art based on mathematical formulas, he has gathered a collection of more than 100 graphic representations. Some are printed, others were part of the exhibition Spheresinstalled in the Museum of the City of Cuernavaca in 2024. There are others that still remain filed, waiting to find their place.

Each piece has been a challenge. They have their complexity, and as in mathematical problems, the most difficult is the one that is in the process of solving, but once it has its visualization, it is the following that becomes the most complex.

On his future work, Arroyo explores the visualization of differential equations and would like to deepen the representation of strange actors.

In early March, the exhibition opened Visible mathematicsat the C3 Sciences Center, located in Mario de la Cueva 20 Circuit, Insurgentes Cuicuilco, Coyoacán. The sample includes 13 pieces, with dimensions of 1.20 x 80 centimeters, which are part of the 2025 calendar printed by C3.

My purpose with this series is to contextualize mathematics in the artistic world. It’s about bringing people closer to numbers through beauty, from arthe concluded.