Verse Talks

This week we sat down with former General Manager of CryptoPunks and founder of StoneWork Natalie Stone, and artist, gallerist and broker Shane Lavalette. We unpack Stone's journey into NFTs, Node’s Punks acquisition, and the enduring passion of the community as well as the evolution of curation and collector identity, Shane's thought process when looking at an artist's body of work...

We sat down this week with long-form generative pioneer Tyler Hobbs to explore Day Gardens, his new body of work released with La Collection at Art Basel this week. They dive into the balance between personal life and artistic career, and the future of generative art in a rapidly changing landscape, as well as the effect of audience expectations and market dynamics on a creative practice. 00:50 -...

Jamie and Leyla sit down with artist Erik Swahn in advance of his upcoming series Soma. They discuss his artistic evolution, the impact of attention on creativity, and the relationship between colour and music. The conversation delves into the title and concept of Soma, as well as Erik's thoughts on the future of his artistic practice.  01:10 - Welcome Erik Swahn  02:40 - The effect of attent...

Jamie and Leyla sit down with Sofia Garcia to explore her journey through digital art, from the early days of ARTXCODE and building lasting relationships, to navigating the 2021 hype and envisioning the future of art in the age of the internet. 1:00 - Welcome Sofia Garcia  05:25 - The birth of ARTXCODE  10:50 - Selling works at CADAF and the first mint  17:10 - Finding an organic aesthetic in the...

Jay, Jamie, Ivan and Leyla sit down together and examine the markets growing optimism, gallery models, transparency and creating value and confidence for both artists and collectors.      01:00 - Jay's summer break  05:53 - Twitter toxicity and curating your social feeds  09:30 - The market's heating up  15:40 - Speculation vs desire   18:30 - The confidence speculation can inspire in a...

Jamie, Ivan and Leyla sit down with Ciphrd and Cosimo from fxhash to explore their new Open-form protocol, the launch of the $FXH token and how the two platforms differ in their approaches. 00:50 - Welcome Ciphrd and Cosimo  03:17 - Digging into art coins  09:50 - Token mechanics and pricing mechanisms  12:08 - A new method of patronage  17:25 - Speculation and new market participants  21:02 - The...

Welcoming Erick Calderon aka Snowfro, to discuss all things generative, Art Blocks, Generative Goods, the difficulty of wearing multiple hats, the weight of people's expectations and dealing with competition in the space.       01:02 - Welcome Snowfro  01:40 - Bringing the energy and shaping culture  03:45 - The headspace of a founder vs an artist  05:25 - Being pulled in different directions...

Jay, Ivan, Leyla and Jamie sit down with Beeple to discuss the importance of authenticity, virality, the role of galleries in web3 and the responsibility of curatorial uplift in an attention economy.  00:50 - Welcome Beeple  01:33 - Avoiding burnout and connecting with an audience  04:30 - Looking back across an artistic practice  06:06 - When is a work finished and the exploratory role of an arti...

A conversation with legendary collector and timeline provocateur Phantom Scribbler. We dive into memes, the social impact of NFTs, the importance of concept & narrative in artworks and the death of aesthetics. 01:30 - The state of the market  05:47 - New additions and a rising floor   08:20 - Welcome Phantom Scribbler  09:15 - The effect of price action  10:40 - Phantom's introduction to...

Jay, Ivan, Jamie and Leyla sit down with Adam Berninger of Tender and Heft Gallery to dive into Heft's opening, the realities of opening a physical space, artist-gallery relationships, the culture casino and institutional vs influencer gatekeeping.   01:38 - Welcome Adam Berninger  03:50 - The relationship between Tender and Heft  07:49 - What inspired the move to a physical gallery model  12...

Kenny Schachter joins Leyla, Jay, Jamie & Ivan to discuss NFT-ism, technology, criticism and all things art before diving into Sketchbook B, content coins and Rodeo's pivot to USD. 01:00 - Welcome Kenny Schachter 03:20 - Building an audience in a pre-internet world 06:30 - Embracing authenticity and integrity  09:00 - Art as a means of social expression  12:49 - Closed mindedness in the a...

This week Jack Butcher joins Jamie, Leyla and Jay to discuss, the power of a network, Systems art, the internet's huge creative unlock, the value of independence and whether 'Artist' is a dead word. 00:50 - Welcome Jack Butcher  03:46  - Jack's practice in his own words  05:56 - Don't over think it  07:32 - Design vs Art   10:11 -  Systems art and the internet as a canvas ...

01:20 - Recap on William Mapan's SOLOS exhibition in London 05:00 - Mapan's holistic artistic approach  07:40 - Are discussion panels boring 14:20 - Embracing browser discrepancies  22:00 -  The artist's intent vs breaking emerging standards 28:15 - Leyla's wallet boycott  33:10 - Jack Kaido and SuperRare  43:07 - Diving into Holly's collection  47:37 - Toxic positivity an...

00:58 - The Deviates aftermath  02:15 - Unpacking the process  03:45 - The secret  06:40 - Driving variety and collaboration  10:50 -  Battling platform censorship  13:50 - The reveal  16:45 - Great art can come from anywhere  20:20 - Self-expression and acceptance  23:15 - Deviations and community  24:18 - Permanence and provenance  27:09 - Personalised slop machines  35:40 - ChatGPT and the next...

01:22 - A complex practice  05:30 - Reflecting on Sketchbook A   09:50 - Parenthood on creativity   12:15 - Slowing down and escaping a framework  16:00 - Building bridges and the importance of physical work  19:48 - The evolution of Sketchbook B and Etudes  26:05 - Immersed in the process 27:33 - The completion of the sketchbook  31:20 - Mark making, self-exploration and identity  34:35 - Dealing...

01:30 - Jeff Magid  08:50 - Discovering another world  16:25 - Becoming a collector  19:15 - Risks and rewards  24:35 - Breaking convention  28:40 - The future of the art world and digital art  36:19 - Value creation and a complex market  39:55 - Stagnation and exclusivity  44:27 - Welcoming new participants  48:40 - Where digital art is going wrong  57:27 - The stigma of the PFP  1:00 - An outsid...

01:03 - Hunting for deals  02:47 - A market slump's effect on cultural enthusiasm  06:40 - Reassessing pricing and expanding the collector base  10:10 - Buying the top and catching falling knives  14:26 - Managing liquidity  15:46 - Navigating the market as an artist  19:22 - New mediums, new metas and perspectives  24:04 - Approaching historical context as a curator  32:15 - Watching the exi...

03:00 - The Giraffe, debate, drama and narrative  07:37 - Understanding and the value of participation  11:19 - Pretension vs fun 16:15 - Freedom of expression and new value systems  22:43 - The Funny Guys, Monk Antony and Le Random  25:48 - Historic importance  30:00 - Research, criticality and ignoring hype  32:50 - Diving into Kaloh's tweet - the team's 2 ETH picks  46:30 - The diffic...

01:40 - Embracing Web3's rollercoaster  03:20 - Navigating the intensity and finding a balance  07:57 -  Living parallel lives  10:20 - Understanding new value systems and cultural shifts  14:14 - Opportunities within a lack of bureaucracy  18:00 - What denotes importance  27:00 - Grace's Tweet, competition and platform collaboration  30:20 - AI curation, Fellowship's north star and...

01:45 - Unpacking Geometric Fluidity  04:28 - First steps and markers 06:52 - Community, creation and curation  09:58 - Proof of participation  12:00 - Tensions and criticism  16:25 - Building conversations  20:29 - Over indexing on complexity  24:25 - The Future of Man  26:48 - Collector interaction  29:45 - Artistic merit vs market value  40:00 - Emperor's new clothes and conceptual gymnast...

01:02 - Big sales and moving beyond the bubble  02:27 - Considered acquisitions  04:15 - Botto evolution and the afterlife of the work  07:09 - Thoughts on the performance and the final 22  13:41 - Community, interaction and curation  18:15 - The open letter to Christie's  21:45 - Art vs Slop  22:40 - The reality of appropriation in a contemporary practice  24:58 - A question of degree 29:50...

00:40 - The market's impact  03:15 - Chain choices and complexities  12:00 - Early constraints and historic value  15:20 - Is marketing the new curating?  17:15 - Defining curation  19:16 - Communication, context and narrative  23:20 - Differences in approach between the web3 and trad art-worlds  28:06 - Personal connections and interactions  30:06 - Navigating click bait and the algorithm  3...

02:20 - p5 and the evolution of Botto  10:22 - The future of governance and Botto's agency  15:00 - Navigating the new agentic landscape  19:25 - Botto's economy  23:50 - Responsibility, conviction and longevity  25:51 - Simon's motivations  31:50 - The power of the DAO  40:20 - p5.Botto, surprises, parallels and development  48:36 - Possible futures and directions  51:08 - Present...

02:40 - Building and hacking systems  09:35 - The birth of Botto  14:10 - The importance of the DAO  18:30 - The evolution of Botto in the face of new AI development  20:40 - Botto's persona and longevity  25:30 - Styles, themes and periods  27:53 - The economy of Botto, rewards and incentives  37:45 - The genesis of P5.Botto  41:15 - How the p5.Botto system works  47:50 - The final 22 algori...

01:25 - Crazy season  11:25 - Kim Asendof's PXL and an upward market  21:47 - Thinking about emerging artists  26:25 - Striking a balance  31:26 - Tabor Robak's Tabcorp Labs  36:24 - Verse Rundown  39:16 - Artist Highlights  40:49 - Digital natives and gaming culture  44:22 - Artist Highlights part 2  48:40 - A chat with Jo Lawson-Tancred  50:21 - Is the art world dead?  53:00 - Sceptici...