Artist Interview: Daniel Martin | NFT CULTURE | NFTs & Crypto Art

Where are you from?

My geographical background is as boring as the Dutch landscape where I have resided my entire
life. Joking aside, The Netherlands is a great base for me where I work together with my friends
from the artist initiative Arthouse. As we travel alot I make up for sticking around the same
place.

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 a
studio with several people doing 3d / design work in Amsterdam. During that period I picked up
painting as a means of another type of expression which eventually led me to quit the company
and start painting full time. In those years I exhibited all over the world in galleries and several
museums before I felt there was something missing in my creative process. A couple of years
ago 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 benefits
that come with digital creation. I even created an entire digital exhibition in collaboration with a
museum and a gallery prior to knowing about NFTs. For me it was all about the freedom and
creative possibilities that come with working digitally as there are no restraints to what is
possible, opening up whole uncharted worlds and new art forms.
Having stated the previous, you can understand my excitement when I learned about NTFs in
February 2021. Although I didn’t start selling NFTs right off the bat, I stopped all requests from
galleries for new work, and started experimenting full time on the merger of my traditional and
digital work. Now, almost 1,5 year later, I can happily say that I found what was missing and that I
am 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 I
wanted to take my NFTs. My first mint must have been around June 2021 on Hic et Nunc. There
was a massive onboarding of traditional artists on Tezos, many of which were my friends. So
that 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 that
float around in the air, or creating an art piece that resonates with myself, and hopefully other
people.

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 bigger
things than a style, or a linear artistic voice so to speak. He dares to touch subjects in a wide
variety of disciplines, dares to make connections and decisions not necessarily visible to the
public 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 human
behavior 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 of
merges 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 on

No 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 The
Netherlands and in Mexico with residential spaces, and studio spaces for projects within the
arts. Over the years Mexico became a second home where we usually spend 1 or 2 months a
year working towards exhibitions and having fun with befriended artists. Last year we created a
dedicated digital studio next to the painting and sculpting workshops. Needless to say, I can’t
wait 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 pick
something it would be strolling around in nature by myself with music. It provides the much
needed 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. From
painting, 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 topics
behind my work which revolve around transformation, patterns, perception and reality. Those
topics I pick up in various concepts, disciplines and aesthetics, usually bordered up in the form of
a 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 more
abstract over time. The abstraction began with just paint at first, but then I got interested in
finding ways to create abstraction with layers as a collage. The collages grew to be 3d collage
where I pasted 3d objects on the paintings. Those objects grew into sculptures, and started to
find their way in the digital realm through 3d modeling or scanning. Through this whole process
of constant growth it became apparent to me that my art was about exploration of the previously
mentioned topics of my work, to find an interconnection in how the universe, and thus nature and
humanity operates. I think it is safe to say that art serves for me as a self exploratory device to
find 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 create
bridges between NFT and traditional art institutions. Think of full online / metaverse exhibitions
that 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 knowing
what 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 Violet
Jones, Santiago Pani, Ivo Nupoort and Henrik Uldalen. The project is called Peyote Ugly that took
place 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 Art
Innovation 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!