Where are you from?
My geographical background is as boring as the Dutch landscape where I have resided my entirelife. Joking aside, The Netherlands is a great base for me where I work together with my friendsfrom the artist initiative Arthouse. As we travel alot I make up for sticking around the sameplace.
Can you tell us about your background and what lead you down the path to becoming an artist and ultimately experimenting with NFTs?
Prior to me becoming a full time traditional artist 10 years ago, I was active in digital arts. I ran astudio with several people doing 3d / design work in Amsterdam. During that period I picked uppainting as a means of another type of expression which eventually led me to quit the companyand start painting full time. In those years I exhibited all over the world in galleries and severalmuseums before I felt there was something missing in my creative process. A couple of yearsago it became apparent that the missing part was the digital work that I had put aside to paint.Around 2018 I slowly started the merger of traditional and digital art exploring all the benefitsthat come with digital creation. I even created an entire digital exhibition in collaboration with amuseum and a gallery prior to knowing about NFTs. For me it was all about the freedom andcreative possibilities that come with working digitally as there are no restraints to what ispossible, opening up whole uncharted worlds and new art forms.Having stated the previous, you can understand my excitement when I learned about NTFs inFebruary 2021. Although I didn’t start selling NFTs right off the bat, I stopped all requests fromgalleries for new work, and started experimenting full time on the merger of my traditional anddigital work. Now, almost 1,5 year later, I can happily say that I found what was missing and that Iam very excited to create bridges between the digital and physical art world.
When did you mint your first NFT? What platform did you choose and why?
Before minting a piece myself I spent several months experimenting and figuring out where Iwanted to take my NFTs. My first mint must have been around June 2021 on Hic et Nunc. Therewas a massive onboarding of traditional artists on Tezos, many of which were my friends. Sothat was kind of an organic choice of following each other into this new adventure.
Can you tell us one thing you cannot live without? (and why)
Creation in the broadest term. I think my happiness lies in creating an action that has a reaction /result. Whether that be hitting a string on a guitar with sound as the result, blowing bubbles thatfloat around in the air, or creating an art piece that resonates with myself, and hopefully otherpeople.
Who is your favorite artist(s) (Non NFT)? What about their style resonates with you?
I’d probably have to go with a contemporary like Matthew Day Jackson. He is in search of biggerthings than a style, or a linear artistic voice so to speak. He dares to touch subjects in a widevariety of disciplines, dares to make connections and decisions not necessarily visible to thepublic or critics, with an outcome that still makes total sense to me.
Who is your favourite NFT artist? What makes this artist unique?
I will have to pick two. Refik Anadol for his innovative ways of uncovering patterns in humanbehavior through data in a way that grounds in both contemporary art as well as the digital arts.And last but not least, Trevor Jones and his great efforts in uncovering the possibilities ofmerges between the digital and the physical & merges of creative disciplines.
What made you pursue NFT art?
If you haven’t guessed it by now; Innovation, experimentation, exploration.What is the one NFT you wish you had purchased but missed out onNo regrets, things play out as they play out.
If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you go? Why this location?
At this moment it would be Mexico. With our artist initiative Arthouse we have a location in TheNetherlands and in Mexico with residential spaces, and studio spaces for projects within thearts. Over the years Mexico became a second home where we usually spend 1 or 2 months ayear working towards exhibitions and having fun with befriended artists. Last year we created adedicated digital studio next to the painting and sculpting workshops. Needless to say, I can’twait to return there and do more Mexican inspired NFTs.
What are your other passions besides art? Why?
I am afraid I am one of those maxi’s where everything revolves around art. If I have to picksomething it would be strolling around in nature by myself with music. It provides the muchneeded rest from the hectic art world, and it serves as inspiration for, yes… art.
Do you make other forms of art?
I am solely focused on visual arts. But within that field there is not much I haven’t touched. Frompainting, sculpting, printmaking, collage etc, to its digital counterparts like 3D, VR, AR, scanning,photography etc.
Are you self taught or trained?
They tried to train me in art academies and schools but I simply would not listen.
How did you come up with your specific style?
I am not sure if I can define my work in a specific style. If any, my style can be seen as the topicsbehind my work which revolve around transformation, patterns, perception and reality. Thosetopics I pick up in various concepts, disciplines and aesthetics, usually bordered up in the form ofa series or project.
How has your style evolved over the years?
I started out solely as a painter of mostly realistic portraits. These portraits became moreabstract over time. The abstraction began with just paint at first, but then I got interested infinding ways to create abstraction with layers as a collage. The collages grew to be 3d collagewhere I pasted 3d objects on the paintings. Those objects grew into sculptures, and started tofind their way in the digital realm through 3d modeling or scanning. Through this whole processof constant growth it became apparent to me that my art was about exploration of the previouslymentioned topics of my work, to find an interconnection in how the universe, and thus nature andhumanity operates. I think it is safe to say that art serves for me as a self exploratory device tofind answers to all that surrounds us.
What is coming in the near future?
Instead of creating singular NFT drops, I want to focus on bigger projects that will help createbridges between NFT and traditional art institutions. Think of full online / metaverse exhibitionsthat will drop as NFT, and will be exhibited in IRL galleries / museums parallelly.
If you could collaborate with one artist who would it be? (and why)
I would definitely sign up for a collaboration with the previously mentioned NFT artists; Refik Anadol & Trevor Jones.
What was your greatest failure and what did you learn from that?
I worked with a lot of trash / found objects as collage materials. So, one day without knowingwhat it really was I brought home an old diaper and I ran it through the printing press to flatten it.Don’t.
What is your biggest piece sold?
That NFT was a physical piece + NFT + overlay in AR. It was part of a collaboration with VioletJones, Santiago Pani, Ivo Nupoort and Henrik Uldalen. The project is called Peyote Ugly that tookplace in Mexico as a humouristical adventure.
How much did it sell for?
2.25 ETH
Do you have any upcoming drops?
● Mid September one of my pieces will be exhibited on Times Square, NYC with ArtInnovation Gallery and it will be for sale upon opening of the exhibition.
● There also might be another chapter of Peyote Ugly planned during a scary holiday.
● And I am working on a massive project but I am not giving any details yet;)
www.danielmartin.nl
https://linktr.ee/DanielMartinArt
Anything else you’d like to share?
LFG!