Generative Art Timeline · Chapter 10: On-Chain Era (2020s)
2022
Stable Diffusion Released

In August, just a few weeks after the public release of Midjourney, Stability AI publicly released Stable Diffusion, a text-to-image model co-developed with researchers from LMU Munich and Runway ML. The release marked a the third significant text-to-image generative AI model in less than a year. Combined, these models played a significant role is expanding access to creative tools. Stable Diffusion in particular achieved this as the model operates on under an open-source license. As with the other generative AI tools released in this whirlwind period, within months, the model garnered over 10 million users, sparking both widespread interest, curiosity and fear in these emerging technologies.
Text by Peter Bauman. Generative Art Timeline, Le Random, fact-checked September 2026.
Sources
Movements
generative AI, artificial intelligence
Filed under
- Ideas
- tools
- Technologies
- artificial intelligence, generative AI, Midjourney, open source, Stable Diffusion, text-to-image
- Organisations
- LMU Munich, Runway ML, Stability AI
- Places
- Munich
Related moments
Echoes across time
- 1968 · "On the Path to Computer Art” by the Parallel Group
- 1970 · Generación Automática de Formas Plásticas Exhibition at the Centro de Cálculo of the University of Madrid
- 2001 · Casey Reas and Ben Fry Initiate Processing Project
Le Random editorials
- Artificial and Human Intelligence, Peter Bauman, June 12, 2024
- Christiane Paul on Curating Cohen’s AARON, Peter Bauman, January 29, 2024
- Seams and Synthesis: Schizocollage and AI Aesthetics, Brian Droitcour, February 2, 2026
- Demystifying Generative Autonomy, Peter Bauman, December 12, 2024
Le Random podcast
- Timeline Ch 8—Tooling Era (2000s) with Christiane Paul, Casey Reas, Christa Sommerer & Golan Levin — listen with transcript on Le Random (15 May 2024, 64 min). Transcript mentions Stable Diffusion. Apple Podcasts · Spotify
- Digital Curators Series 02—Regina Harsanyi & Jon Ippolito on Preserving the Digital — listen with transcript on Le Random (04 Nov 2024, 79 min). Transcript mentions Stable Diffusion. Apple Podcasts · Spotify
- Tom White & Gene Kogan on the Birth of GAN Art (Deep Learning Series 01) — listen with transcript on Le Random (14 Apr 2025, 44 min). Transcript mentions Stable Diffusion. Apple Podcasts · Spotify
- Timeline Ch 10—On-Chain Era (2020s) with Erick Calderon, Lauren Lee McCarthy, Itzel Yard & Rafael Lozano-Hemmer — listen with transcript on Le Random (02 Sep 2024, 63 min). Chapter 10’s episode. Apple Podcasts · Spotify