STart Crypto is the premier market for truly rare digital artworks — digital art where its authenticity and rarity is guaranteed by blockchain technology.
Welcome to the October 2020 edition of the STart Crypto Newsletter, where we fill you in on all the exciting happenings at STart Crypto including notable artwork drops, artist and collector updates and upcoming events.
10,000 Artworks Sold!
We are excited to share that this month we’ve hit another huge milestone: Over 10,000 artworks sold! This is a monumental feat not only for us as a company, but for everyone, artists and collectors alike, involved in the rare digital art movement.
We are beyond grateful for your continued support and effort in propelling this movement forward and can not wait to see the growth that transpires within the next few months.
Drops 🔥
Each week we feature original, never-before-seen artworks by popular digital artists on STart Crypto. These Drops serve as a great way for collectors to discover new artists each week, as well as an opportunity for artists to gain exposure across our community and, of course, sell their artworks.
This month consisted of some undoubtedly historic drops consisting of world renowned artist debuts, legendary collaborations and multiple record breaking sales.
BioNet — Shu Lea Cheang
Shu Lea Cheang’s artwork debut on the blockchain (via STart Crypto) introduced the BioNet series to the world — Two short films, which are meant to act as teasers to Cheang’s imminent film UKI which has received its development funding from CNC (France) and a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2020.
BioNet Baby, BioNet Blood Cell, and UKI are continued explorations of the effects of biotechnology on every aspect of our lives, starting at our innermost core. BioNet Baby (1/1) sold for 50ETH (~$18,744) to Whaleshark and nine fixed price editions (0.85 ETH or ~$298)of BioNet Blood Cell sold out within minutes, with the final edition being auctioned off for $830 to Manuel.
A Historic Collaboration — José Delbo x Trevor Jones
This one-of-a-kind collaboration involved two highly revered analogue-turned-digital artists, José Delbo and Trevor Jones, and combined the styles of comic and contemporary painting to bring forth a special story that inspired contemplation and sparked healthy debate through the guise of the world’s greatest detective.
The series consisted of four artwork releases — Two 1/1 animations and two 10/10 illustrated editions. After an intense bidding war, Genesis (1/1) sold to collector Maxstealth for 302.5 ETH ($111,377.47), effectively breaking the sales record for the highest selling single edition pure NFT to date! Maxstealth also claimed Who Is The Creator 2 (1/1) for 150 ETH ($55,291.50). In total, this drop amassed 540.86 ETH (~$200K) in total sales across all 4 artworks.
Artist Spotlight: Darel Carey
Darel Carey is a Los Angeles based artist who creates within both physical and digital realms. His artwork crosses genres and mediums, ranging from large scale installations and murals to intricate digital renderings. He is best known for his Optical Art style which contains strong elements of illusory line work.
Carey has exhibited in galleries and produced large scale installations across the world and completed creative work for giant brands like Adidas, Google, Cadillac, American Express and many others.
Darel Carey’s personal artwork is centered around perception of depth and emergent properties, and is heavily influenced by artists like MC Escher. Carey’s organic creation process, basing each line off of the line before it rather than working from blue print, sets him apart from other Op Artists. At its core, his artwork embodies the notion of complexity birthed from simplicity.
Crystallized Dimensions
To kick off his online gallery opening at STart Crypto, Carey has released a new series called Crystallized Dimensions. This series was inspired by a DMT-evoked awakening to geometrically-disposed hidden dimensions, the artworks in this series relay Carey’s signature themes of depth of perception and simple beginnings leading to convoluted outcomes.
The first artwork from this series, Revelation sold to collector Mamentum for 2.75 ETH (~$927). Since the inception of Crystallized Dimensions, Carey has added two additional optical animations to the series: In Bluem and Gravitational Pull which are both available for purchase.
Collector Spotlight
This month we’d like to spotlight and officially welcome some of our newest and most active collectors:
maxstealth whose collection is filled with highly coveted artworks such as Genesis and Who Is The Creator 2, alongside colorful abstractions and sci-fi inspired 3D art.
Mamentum whose collection is filled with a mix of bright, vibrant 3D creations, highly intricate grey-scale illustrations and captivating motion art.
0mz whose collection is filled with color and life — bright florals, dynamic motion art, emotion-evoking portraitures and expressive digital paintings.
Greekdx whose collection is filled with vivid illustrations that span across genres ranging from colorful surrealism, picturesque landscapes and sci-fi fantasy. Greekdx had a few words to share on their collection and NFT journey:
“I started my NFT journey in 2018 with the purchase of Gods Unchained packs. I was really interested in the concept of NFTs and started dreaming of the possibilities but due to bad market conditions I had to be stay on the sidelines. Coming back to it two years later and I have managed to grow my NFT collection to over 600 pieces i just a few months. The most intriguing aspect of NFTs for me is art and collectibles. Scarcity, proof of ownership and proof of authenticity are the three pillars that make NFTs so valuable in my opinion. With the rapid expansion of the metaverse, NFTs and art will be a huge part of this digital revolution.”
You can find all of our active collectors and their collections in our Activity Feed, which is updated weekly.
maxstealth, Mamentum, 0mz, and Greekdx
The collections of all of this month’s featured collectors are truly exceptional and unique. Each speaks to the individual collector’s style preferences and we highly recommend taking a look at each.
If you’re looking for inspiration from these collectors, here are some of the artists that they’ve recently been collecting from:
LOTUS ONI: GIGA by Leeaux
Featured Artists
This past month we welcomed a number of amazing artists to our community. Here are the artists that we featured this month:
Nenad Radojcic, Victor Duarte, Franky Aguilar, Shivansh Rawat, Cover Art Guy, HanRGB, PentaPix, Mankind, McAfee.Design, Adam Swaab, Emotionull, PixelHead, Spaced Painter, Stellabelle, Scot Greenwell, Kobay, Wrong Bedroom, Akkrin, Elephai, Cryptopop, George Boya, Marko Zubak, Leeaux, Kristy Glas, Sakito Nii,
Upcoming Events
Roots Exhibition
Submissions are officially open for our Roots Exhibition!
Endless interpretations exist for this month’s exhibition prompt of Roots. From the literal roots of a tree to your roots as an artist or a person, to the roots of a concept or idea, the direction you take this prompt is completely up to you.
Based on the votes and feedback of the community, three artists will then be selected for their own special showcase. More details regarding submission due dates and the exhibition opening can be found here.
Get in Touch
If you’re a digital creator, you can learn more about STart Crypto here.
Ready to start your rare digital art collection? Join here.
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