Verse Talks

Leyla Fakhr and Jamie Gourlay sat down with with Oscar Murillo in his studio to discuss Frequencies - a project 13 years in the making that cuts to the heart of his practice  Oscar reflects on his childhood in Colombia, moving to London at eleven, and how drawing became both a refuge and the foundation of his practice. He discusses finding his way into art, supporting his early experimentation thr...

In this episode of Verse Talks, Leyla Fakhr speaks with Caroline Csuri, artist, entrepreneur and daughter of pioneering computer artist Charles Csuri. Caroline reflects on growing up around her father’s work, his beginnings as a painter and sculptor, his early experiments with computers in the 1960s, and the extraordinary community of artists, programmers and animators that surrounded him. The con...

Leyla Fakhr speaks with Brazilian artist, filmmaker and curator Kika Nicolela about community, collecting and finding new audiences for digital art. Kika discusses her work with Objkt, the culture around Tezos, and why physical exhibitions remain important for digital artists. They also talk about Kika’s recent exhibition in Shiraz and the role art can play in communities beyond the usual European...

Leyla sat down with Michael Spalter, co-founder of the Anne and Michael Spalter Digital Art Collection - one of the world’s most important collections of computer and digital art. They discuss the collection’s history, the pioneers of the field, and the life and legacy of Charles Csuri. https://spalterdigital.com/ Chapters: 00:00 – Introduction 00:46 – Michael and Anne Spalter’s journey into digit...

In this episode of Verse Talks, Leyla and Jamie speak with digital art historian and researcher Noah Bolanowski about the overlooked history of digital art. From street art and the early days of Nifty Gateway to the NFT boom, blockchain, and the pioneers of computer art, Noah takes us through his journey into uncovering the people, works and stories that helped shape the medium. 00:00 — Introducti...

Jon Wubbushi is one of the most unconventional thinkers we've spoken to. After building companies, he became known for his AI-generated artworks before unexpectedly turning his attention to theoretical physics. Today he leads a research team working on what he believes is a new framework for understanding reality itself. In this conversation we discuss creativity, AI, quantum mechanics, consc...

In this episode, Mat Dryhurst joins us to discuss how digital art has evolved over the past decade and where it's heading next. We talk about blockchain, NFTs, AI, and the idea of protocol art - works that are defined less by a single image or object than by the rules, systems, and networks that produce them. Along the way, we discuss collecting, curation, online communities, software as an a...

00:00 – Introduction 00:45 – Dropping out of art school 02:20 – Family, comics & collecting 05:20 – Discovering NFTs 06:00 – The birth of Drifella 08:45 – Ethereum, Solana & finding a community 12:20 – Why the Solana art scene exploded 16:30 – Building the Drifella universe 20:20 – Why Drifella 3 became a breakout moment 24:00 – Why trading cards? 27:00 – How Card NFT is made 31:00 – Burni...

Artist Ed Fornieles joins Verse Talk to discuss Borrowed Lives: Anon 2026 , a  body of work exploring how the internet shapes identity. The conversation ranges from Tumblr and 4chan to memes, online belonging, gamer culture, masculinity, AI, and what it means to grow up in a world where images never stop arriving. Along the way, Ed discusses his wider practice, why online communities matter, and h...

00:18 - Welcome Trevor Paglen 01:17 - Co-curating Zero 10 Basel 03:34 - Beyond labels and distinctions 05:36 - Blending traditional and digital audiences 08:45 - A blockchain agnostic view 11:44 - NFTs, legitimacy and cultural perception  15:08 - How the art world has shifted  18:00 - The collapse of the mid-tier gallery  20:45 - NFTs as an alternative path for artists   22:58 - Selecting artists...

00:24 - Welcome Jalil  03:29 - From art to coding  07:04 - Finding Web3 and NFTs  08:05 - Finding Visualize Value and community   14:01 - The Permissionless Apprentice and connecting with Jack  18:47 - Embracing Ethereum and learning Solidity  22:10 - Scapes   24:24 - Experiencing the NFT boom   29:46 - From rock bottom to Checks   35:08 - Building the Checks contracts   39:39 - How Checks works ...

00:14 - Welcome Nuclear Samurai 02:51 - Expectations going into the mint  06:13 - Why choose Verse for BRAINROT  08:59 - Early explorations in digital art   11:59 - Fine art to fashion photography   16:04 - Rediscovering NFTs in 2022 17:30 - Finding community on X 20:27 - New technologies and artistic freedom  24:21 - Cultivating a broad audience  28:03 - The Artist as a Founder    29:14 - The imp...

00:18 - Welcome Brian Droitcour and sssluke 02:50 - Burnout and returning online 04:50 - Brian and the origins of Outland 07:54 - A mismatch in value systems and the importance of critique  10:03 - Outland's relaunch as a nonprofit 12:41 - How important are NFTs to digital art  15:46 - Why try to bridge different art worlds  21:11 - New Bad Image 22:27 - Evil Biscuit and the avant scene  25:5...

00:30 - Welcome Simon Hudson and Justin Gilanyi  05:32 - Building cultural architecture   06:46 - How Justin and Simon met   10:33 - Art Basel Hong Kong group dynamics   11:55 - A collaborative mindset   12:47 - Comparing the energy in Miami and Hong Kong  14:58 - Botto installation lessons  18:54 - Pre-sales and fair prep   20:55 - New gallery models working with fairs    24:00 - Exposure costs a...

00:23 - Welcome Harvey Rayner and Tabor Robak 01:40 - Human Resources launch and mint-out 04:44 - Tabor's thoughts post-mint 07:00 - Organic growth, communication and momentum building 09:00 - First reactions: risk, confusion and conceptual clarity 11:00 - Roleplay, identity and embodying PFPs 13:00 - Timing, AI and why the project works now 15:00 - The state of PFP culture and shifting expec...

00:20 - Welcome Abigail Miller and Micol 01:07 - Micol’s journey into digital art and NFTs 02:20 - From corporate to crypto art 04:12 - Expectations and burnout 05:26 - Abigail’s background 06:26 - The Fulbright program, Russia and cultural diplomacy  09:32 - Crypto roots and art school 11:07 - Space struggles and growth 14:25 - Echo chamber and reset 18:46 - Financialization vs. experimentation 2...

00:24 - Verse Talks returns 02:55 - The state of affairs in digital art 04:40 - Launching new work, market cycles and algorithm whiplash 07:56 - Focusing on the internet as a canvas  09:15 - The difficulty in bridging crypto and wider internet culture  16:15 - Where are all the new artists post Art Basel's success?  17:55 - Crypto liquidity and its impact on the digital art market   20:34 - B...

00:26 - Welcome (back) Tabor Robak 01:40 - Broken Printer and Tabcorp Labs 03:25 - The Tabcorp universe 05:25 - Human Resources and exploring PFP as a genre  11:10 - A critique of corporate culture 12:45 - The process behind Human Resources  16:05 - Traits and rarity   19:00 - Are we the PFPs?    19:57  - Community and the future of Tabcorp  21:50 - Between the traditional and web3 art worlds  25:...

01:18 - Welcome Rhea Myers 01:26 - Rhea's journey into art and technology 02:08 - Art school experiences and early career 07:56 - An anthropological approach to the tech industry 10:59 - An artistic approach to programming 17:43 - Blockchain and cultural observations 24:39 - Early days of blockchain and crypto art 37:47 - TORCHED H34R7S 42:05 - Challenges in works that depend on audience part...

00:26 - Welcome Phil Mohun 01:44 - The vision behind Node Foundation 03:23 - Why Palo Alto? 04:05 - The importance of Silicon Valley 06:14 - The role of Node in the art community 15:09 - Node's programming and seasonal approach 19:02 - Focus on presentation, education, and preservation 25:18 - CryptoPunks and ERC standards 26:36 - Yuga's contribution and collection bids 28:06 - Creating...

01:44 - Welcome Terence Broad 02:41 - Terry's early artistic journey  07:16 - Transition to creative computing  14:03 - Exploring AI and generative art  15:45 - DeepDream and AI visual understanding  19:42 - Blade Runner—Autoencoded 25:56 - From Whitney to worldwide  34:12 - Balancing an art and tech career  34:43 - Pursuing a PhD and creative AI  36:09 - Developing (un)stable equilibrium  36...

00:22 - Welcome Matt Medved  04:34 The Evolution of Media and Culture 06:36 The Birth of NFT Now and Its Mission 08:52 The Gateway: Bridging Traditional and Digital Art 10:42 The Shift to Now Media 15:32 Art Basel and the Digital Art Council 21:51 Meeting the market where it is and growing understanding  24:33 Reflections on Art Basel and Digital Art 26:46 The Future of Digital Art in Traditional...

01:42 - Welcome Laurie Simmons  04:17 - Early inspiration, New York and formative travel  07:25 - Artistic beginnings and creative identity  12:00 - Politics, rebellion and activism     14:57 - Navigating gender norms and early works   21:45 - AI and artistic evolution  27:55 - Photography and artistic identity  30:26 - Connections and collaborations  32:32 - Meeting kindred spirits in the art wor...

01:15 - Welcome Refik Anadol 02:07 - Blade Runner , media architecture and early inspirations     03:34 - Defining data painting 04:45 - The concept of data as pigment 07:44 - Fusing art and architecture  10:24 - Viral success and public art 13:49 - Collaborations and technological innovation  16:30 - Defining a medium through a holistic approach  21:27- Building the datasets and creating positive...

00:50 - Early days and the Art Blocks boom 03:48 - A mixed-media approach to a generative practice  05:02 - From Noise  08:50 - Exploring gestural mark-making through an algorithmic practice  10:39 - The power of messy ideas and an unrestricted output space  15:01 - Where the art lies  16:30 - The curation process behind From Noise  18:21 - Thinking about how the work exists physically  22:55 - Un...