Verse Talks

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...

00:37 - Ivan heads up Artist Rooms 01:50 - The excitement of a more open schedule 03:04 - Curation and focus for Artist Rooms 07:19 - Flexibility, freedom and consistency 11:13 - Thinking about what to show 14:54 - A difference in approach 20:07 - Foundations and backgrounds 32:13 - Breaking new ground with Botto 36:55 - Rodeo forging ahead 45:25 - The success of gamification 47:30 - Implications...

01:38 - Breaking down the list 03:40 - Context matters 07:06 - Liquidity and rarity 10:37 - How to define importance 16:10 - The problem with 'the' list 21:08 - Trickle-down economics and potential positives 27:34 - A split in the space, ChrisF's prescience 34:24 - Rodeo takes off 37:06 - Gamification and social interaction 39:37 - Ease of use and pace of consumption 42:22 - Thought...

06:49 - Trends and predictions for 2025  07:20 - AI agents and their continued impact   18:51 - The decline of metas   26:24 - Expanding the definition of art   28:56 - An increased tokenisation of art    30:57 - Barriers to entry for the space   36:58 - Complexity and exclusion   44:43 - WIPs and social engagement   46:07 - Growth in mixed media works   46:56 - Collecting in 2025   56:32 - Relati...

01:38 - Highlights and Lowlights 22:23 - Collector of the year 30:44 - Influencer of the year 40:25 - Blockchain of the year 46:10 - Controversy of the year 59:15 - Most though provoking piece of the year 01:01:46 - Series of the year 01:05:37 - Artwork of the year 01:08:21 - Favourite pieces collected this year 01:18:22 - Favourite new discovery this year 01:21:03 - Artist of the year 01:25:35 -...

01:23 - Signs for the year ahead   04:52 - Looking back on 2024   10:11 - Buying, selling and thinking about a collection from a market perspective   13:21 - Reflecting on the last year at Verse   17:10 - Institutional and populist approaches towards culture   20:50 - ChrisF's systems art vs object fetishism thesis   27:49 - fxhash, OpenSea and platform tokens   42:42 - Lonli's highlight...

01:14 - An overview of Tabor's career to date   04:19 - The common threads   07:25 - Physical vs digital   12:39 - Scepticism from the traditional space   15:41 - Working at a web3 pace   18:44 - Conservatism in contemporary art   25:30 - Broken Printer's Recycled Program   29:53 - The process of creating a Recycled piece   34:23 - The genesis of Broken Printer   40:22 - The birth of TAB...

00:38 - Art Basel Recap  04:12 - Online vs irl connections  07:40 - Reflections on Security 19:59 - Release mechanics and artist growth 32:15 - The value of network effects 38:48 - Do curators need to be collectors 45:25 - Basel Recap pt 2 51:00 - Verse rundown 59:07 - Artist highlights Dev Harlan - https://x.com/devharlan Nicolas Sassoon - https://x.com/nicolas_sassoon Tabor Robak - https://x.com...

00:48 - Are we back?  04:25 - Collector confidence  11:14 - New entrants to the space  13:17  - RTFKT closure  17:20 - PFPs, identity and community  29:33 - Meme coins and risk  34:07 - Dynamics of fractionalisation 44:45 - Network effects and OEs  51:22 - Shl0ms is God  55:44 - Discipline to collecting  01:04:44 - Verse rundown  01:07:22 - Artist highlights  Eko33 - https://x.com/eko33  Panavisco...