VAULTED Art Collector Profile #4 - 0xSimonSays
Vaulted is a series where prominent collectors in the Tezos ecosystem are interviewed and highlighted.
Vaulted #4 with with 0xSimonSays
“I think it was in September of 2021, I found Hic et Nunc. Had seen a couple people talk about it enough and finally thought “Sure, I’ll take a look at this”. That felt like the combination of Wild West and Berlin punk scene. ”
Merve : Can you tell us how your collecting journey began?
0xSimonSays: My wife and I had always collected art on a small scale for a while but occasionally picked something we liked in a local gallery, nothing speculative. We've always been very conscious of what we're putting on our walls and wanted to have nice and interesting art.
Separately, in 2021, I started playing around with crypto, and at some point, that summer, specifically generative art NFTs pierced my bubble. I had been unaware of it as an art form before that but found it fascinating.
NFTs as a delivery mechanism for art was quite new to me, but it really made sense and was super interesting. I dove further into it and found myself really vibing with the community and finding interesting people. It was so cool how the artists were all there and it was like Alice looking through glass type story. I started out in the ETH ecosystem, and specifically with Art Blocks.
Around September 2021, I found Hic et Nunc. I had seen a couple of people talk about it enough and finally thought "Sure, I'll take a look at this”. That felt like the combination of Wild West and Berlin punk scene. It just seemed interesting and coming from the Art Blocks side, everything seemed so affordable. It was really cool and crazy.
Merve: Can you share a story about acquiring one of your favorite pieces or any interesting moment in your collecting journey?
0xSimonSays: I am thinking of a fun one, the first work I ever bought at an art fair, in 2022. Zancan had six physical pieces, he was doing through a plot that had hand-embellished painting elements. They were selling them on a first come first served basis. So I went down to New York early and just stood in line, it was a bit weird because you don't arrive early to an art fair, but I was like no, I want to be at the door.
Actually a fellow collector who's a friend did the same thing. We didn't go together intentionally but we both arrived there early, we made it to the booth and reserved our pieces and three other people came 10 minutes later. So if we hadn't done that, we wouldn't have succeeded, which was fun.
Merve: What sets Tezos apart in your eyes compared to other NFT ecosystems?
0xSimonSays: Other chains that sell art, have lots of experimentation, but often that experimentation is around mint and distribution mechanics. I think there may be less experimentation with blockchain as a medium on Tezos, but I think it's generally more conceptual and has more of a bohemian vibe that endures because of its lower transaction costs and where a lot of people are putting their experiments and sketches.
Merve: Who are your three favorite artists/artworks on Tezos from your collection, and what makes their work stand out to you?
0xSimonSays: I really love my Dragons by William Mapan, Proximas by Jacek Markusiewicz , horizon(te)s by Iskra Velitchkova. Also need to add that bird from Iskra Velitchkova is valuable for me since it was created especially for the community Artnome put together early days.
Merve: Which three emerging artists on Tezos do you think are worth keeping an eye on, and why?
0xSimonSays: I will go with four artists, Anna Lucia, Rudxane, Marcel Schwittlick and lastly Emre Meydan(thresfold) who does a lot of interesting plotter work.
