Nodeium — art frames as nodes

An art frame that plays your collection like music.

Probably A Art Frame turns a square 1000-nit screen into a quiet, self-running gallery. Add works from your phone, build exhibitions, set a time for every piece – the frame does the rest. No cloud, no account, no app store.

Node 001 is live · Vienna

SERFIE #121Video · now showing

Mockup · 1:1

Node 001

The idea

Works are the songs. Exhibitions are the playlists.

Most screens want to be looked at. This one wants to disappear behind the art. Probably A Art Frame is a square display in a black frame and black passepartout – and an operating system that turns it into something you curate, not something you manage.

You run it like a music player. There is a mini player that shows what is on the wall and how long it stays. There are exhibitions with your order and a time for every work. Tap a work and it is on the wall now. Shuffle if you like.

Every frame is a node with its own number and address. It belongs to whoever sets it up first – and after that it never shows a pairing code on its own. Visitors at an exhibition can look. They cannot take over.

How it works

Four steps. Then it runs.

01
Plug it in
The frame starts, opens its own Wi-Fi and shows a QR code on the screen.
02
Scan
Your phone joins, picks your Wi-Fi – or none at all – and becomes the owner.
03
Add art
Photos, videos, GIFs, SVGs or a link. The frame converts everything for smooth playback.
04
Curate
Build exhibitions, drag works into order, set a time per piece. Tap to show now.

Without Wi-Fi
The frame runs its own protected network.For exhibitions and places without internet: your phone connects straight to the frame. The art keeps playing either way.
After a power cut
Straight back to the art – no code on the screen.If the home Wi-Fi is slower than the frame, it waits, opens its own network quietly and finds its way back.
Owner only
Pairing happens at the frame, with single-use codes.New devices are added from the owner’s app. Reset from the app – or with a file on the memory card, which means opening the frame.
The app
Installs from the frame itself, over HTTPS.A real app on iOS and Android – no store, no account. It talks to your frame and nothing else.

Tech specs

Small numbers, bright screen.

Everything below is what the frame does today, in software version 0.3.2. Formats are converted on the frame itself, so a phone video and a 4K file end up equally smooth on the wall.

Display	7.6″ square IPS, 800 × 800 pxWide viewing angles, made for a square canvas
Active area	135 × 135 mm≈ 150 ppi
Brightness	1000 cd/m²
Frame	Black sanded wood, black bevel-cut passepartoutShown as a mockup on this page
Playback	Hardware H.264 up to 1080p at 30 fpsShort loops are stitched to at least 8 s, so they never stutter at the seam
Formats	JPEG, PNG, GIF, SVG, MP4, MOV, WebM, linksLinks to images or videos, or to pages with a preview image
Exhibitions	Unlimited, with drag-to-order and a time per work5 seconds to 24 hours · shuffle · fit or fill · black or white matte for non-square works
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz · own WPA2 network for offline use
Security	Owner pairing at the frame · single-use codes · HTTPS with automatically renewed certificateLocal only – no cloud service involved in showing your art
App	Installable web app (PWA) for iOS and Android
Power	5 V USB, one supply for frame and display
Software	Probably A Art Frame OS 0.3.2, Linux-based

Nodes

Every frame has a number.

Live

001

001.nodeium.art – Vienna. Reachable only from inside its own network.

Planned

002

Probably next.

Planned

003

Probably after that.

NOTE: A node’s address only leads to its frame from inside the frame’s own network. From anywhere else, 001.nodeium.art goes nowhere. That is on purpose.

An art frame that plays your collection like music.

Works are the songs. Exhibitions are the playlists.

Four steps. Then it runs.

Plug it in

Scan

Add art

Curate

Small numbers, bright screen.

Every frame has a number.

001

002

003