Artist identify: Grant Riven Yun
Location: Milwaukee
Date minted first NFT: Feb. 3, 2021
Which blockchains? Ethereum, Counterparty (Bitcoin)
Who’s he?
Grant Yun has at all times been an artist at coronary heart with an early aspiration to have his work featured at a serious public sale home. A curious and motivated particular person, Yun is learning medication whereas juggling his work as an artist and performing as a breakdancer who has competed everywhere in the United States.
Since discovering NFTs just a little over two years in the past, the Wisconsin resident has propelled his artwork and private model into the stratosphere a lot faster than he’d imagined. With a minimalist model that elicits nostalgic vibes amongst collectors and his witty character on Twitter, Yun is slicing out a major proportion of mindshare amongst digital artwork followers.
“Earlier than NFTs, I informed myself I might develop into an artist who sells at a big public sale home someday as a result of, on the time, that was my solely metric by which I knew what it meant to be a profitable artist. I had no expertise being an artist general, in order that was the one metric I needed to measure.”
He reached the metric in October 2022:
“Having my work be put up at Sotheby’s was surreal. I believe essentially the most pivotal second for me was after I signed the contract… It simply felt like such a monumental second.”
Yun paid homage to NFTs because the accelerant that helped him obtain what would possibly in any other case have taken a decade.
“It’s truthfully been surreal. I believe that the expansion of artists on this area is hyper accelerated. To have achieved what I’ve achieved shouldn’t occur inside a decade. For me, it occurred inside two years of me becoming a member of the area. However, right here we’re.”
Private model
Describing his personal distinct model, Yun acknowledges the influence of simplicity to evoke reminiscences and the influence of old skool video video games.
“I see my work as minimalist and nostalgic,” he says. “I believe my artwork is absolutely centered on being ambiguous sufficient to the place individuals can relate to it with their very own private experiences, however particular sufficient to the place it might probably elicit sure reminiscences from individuals’s lives.”
“I attempt to restrict the quantity of particulars and muddle. It’s actually a much less is extra sort of mentality.”
“With the gaming vibes in my artwork, it’s largely primarily based round Nintendo video games — significantly the Tremendous Nintendo period, Nintendo 64 and GameCube. I really feel like Nintendo video games, particularly those that have been revealed by Nintendo themselves, have a really particular coloration palette — a bit like Pokemon and The Legend of Zelda. All of these have a really distinctive and related sort of set of colours.”
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Notable gross sales up to now:
“The Alien” from the collection “House” offered for 136.9 ETH on July 28, 2022 ($236,217 equal on date of sale).
“Laundry” from the collection “Northeast” offered for 70 ETH on Jan. 28, 2023 ($115,182 equal on date of sale).
“Casa Roja” from “Grant Yun Early Works” offered for 25 ETH on Jan. 8, 2023 ($31,596.50 equal on date of sale).
“En Route #7” from the “Grant Yun x Avant Arte” assortment offered for 16 ETH on Jan. 3, 2023 ($19,426 equal on date of sale).
Influences
Conventional artwork continues to supply inspiration, significantly established painters from the early to mid-Twentieth century, reminiscent of American Gothic painter Grant Wooden or the pop artist Ed Ruscha.
“Most of my inspiration comes from painters like Grant and Ed and learning portray from the normal artwork world.”
Yun added, “I ought to point out, I do like to go away easter egg, crypto-related issues in my illustrations. However the imaginative and prescient for the place my artwork goes I believe has remained the identical.”
What ought to artists be listening to?
As a scholar of the digital artwork sport and a giant fan of generative artwork particularly, Yun says Mpkoz is one to be careful for. Mpkoz is the artist behind the notable assortment “Chimera.”
Additionally receiving props from Yun is Summer time Wagner, an rising NFT photographer who Justin Aversano additionally rated in a latest NFT Creator.
“Two of my favorites proper now are undoubtedly Summer time and Mpkoz. There’s so many others I do know I’m leaving out although.”
Course of
Recognized for his means to uncover the appeal in commonplace environment, Yun can also be a fan of classes and creating work in a collection.
“After I create an illustration, I attempt for essentially the most half to sub-categorize them into sure collection. I believe I do my greatest work in a collection,” Yun mentioned.
“To me, it helps as a result of I wish to view the world in a categorical method. I additionally assume lots of people do the identical subconsciously or consciously. I consider because of this we at all times place a giant emphasis on gathering a set and even gathering basically. For continuity’s sake for myself and likewise for gathering,” he says. “I attempt to work with very related themes from previous illustrations.”
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Having moved from the hustle and bustle of California to the quieter fields of Wisconsin, Yun is captivated with telling a narrative inside his artwork just by being current and observing what is true in entrance of him.
“All of my themes come from my experiences, like the place I’ve lived and explicit reminiscences I’ve had. After I got down to create an illustration, I sort of dwell and consider a composition in my head. For instance, if I’m driving someplace and I see a random factor on the facet of the highway, I’ll have a composition come to my head, however I then attempt to form that composition right into a collection that I’m engaged on.”
“One other instance could be, if I look out of the window and I see a constructing, I’ll attempt to guarantee that I’ll use that constructing as a reference, however the illustration itself will attempt to embody one of many totally different themes that I’ve occurring.”
Musings on the brand new artist/collector relationship through NFTs
Yun says the artist-collector relationship is totally totally different within the NFT world than within the conventional artwork world. “Previous to NFTs, artists have been represented by galleries, and the galleries have been the road of communication for collectors and patrons. It was virtually discouraged — and it nonetheless is nearly discouraged — for artists to do direct transactions or communications with collectors. That is in full distinction to what’s occurring proper now within the Web3 area,” Yun says.
Like different creators, he attributes his presence on social media to build up a following. “If I’m being trustworthy, I do assume a part of my success is because of how lively I’m on Twitter and the way prepared and keen I’m to speak to individuals.” He provides that he doesn’t assume “the worth of artwork needs to be solely dictated by one’s willingness to be lively on Twitter.”
“I do really feel for individuals who may not be of their 20s like I’m, or who may not be technologically savvy sufficient or have the expertise like I do being round expertise basically since beginning.”
Hyperlinks:
Grant Yun website
Breakdance record and video
Grails III Artist Reveal Show
SuperRare
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