The Ledge

Kenny Schachter is an artist, critic, writer, and art dealer. He has decades of experience in the art world and his outlook and experience are second to none. He has written critical articles for many prestigious publications, done podcasts, interviews, art shows, and been a pioneer in the world of digital art and NFTs. Listen to his interview as Chris Harper asks him about his life, experience, and view of where this is all going. You can find out more about Kenny by linking to his website here: https://www.kennyschachter.art

Mike Winkelmann, AKA Beeple, is a legendary digital artist, graphic designer, and animator known for selling NFTs. Beeple made history in 2020 with a sale at Christie's of his multi-year long project known as Everydays, for an eye popping 69 million dollars. Following that, he started selling his NFTs on Nifty Gateway and amassed a huge following of fans and a hardcore group of holders. Earlier this year, Beeple opened a 50,000 square foot digital art studio, experiential space, and museum of his body of work, located in his hometown of Charleston, SC. He has become a central figure in the ever-evolving digital art and crypto art movement. Beeple engages with millions of people on Twitter and Instagram daily, as he continues to produce a completed artwork every single day. Here is an interview I did with Beeple at his studio in Charleston, and below is a link to his website. Enjoy!beeple-crap.com

Ömer Faruk Alagöz is a 23-year-old digital artist from Turkey who creates stunning futuristic worlds with his art. Tune in to hear this emerging artist talk about his journey as an artist, his education in fine arts and graphic design, and his involvement in the NFT community. With his translator Leila by his side, he also shares his influences, his challenges, and his dreams. Listen to this episode to explore the psychological aspects of Ömer's art and how he reflects his emotions and thoughts in his creations.You can find his website and links to his socials here: alagoz.eth.co

Nick DenBoer, better known as Smearballs, is an illustrator, animator, and artist. He has worked extensively in television and motion graphics. Nick has worked with celebrities such as Tommy Lee, Conan O'Brien, and for a number of popular bands. Nick's animations are instantly recognizable and hilarious, because he is a talented animator with a sharp perspective on the industry as a whole. You can find out more about and link to his website and socials at smearballs.com.

King of Midtown (KOM) is a New York City collector and prominent curator, builder, influencer and thought leader in the digital art community. In July 2021, he established The Crypt Gallery, world's first NFT gallery in the hospitality industry, which is now located in Dream Hollywood, Los Angeles and Dream Downtown, New York City. King of Midtown focuses on representing a diverse lineup of artists, including Trevor Jones, Emanuele Ferrari, Ayla El Moussa, JOY, Idil Dursun and many more. You can find a link to all of his socials here: https://linktr.ee/kingofmidtown

This week's guest is Jordan Banks, an award winning travel photographer with an impressive career that spans two decades. Jordan's photos have appeared in National Geographic, Lonely Planet & TPOTY, to name a few. His fine art print work is held in the collections of some of the largest photography collectors in the world. He is an thought leader and advocate for Web 3 and photography.You can find all of his links here: https://linktr.ee/jordan_banks

I had the pleasure this week to interview the legendary artist Hafftka. Hafftka's work is represented in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, the British Museum, Brooklyn Museum of Art, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Carnegie Museum of Art, National Gallery of Art, and other museums.

Hafftka's digital art can be found in Web3 on most platforms mainly on the Ethereum blockchain but also on Bitcoin and Solana.Find a link to his website and socials here: https://linktr.ee/Hafftka?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=0d540dbd-8ef6-498d-b9b9-4a272bcdf587

Bryan Brinkman is a legendary animator and artist who has been at the center of the crypto art movement. He is one of the artists who came in to this scene early, with a very successful track record of drops and sales. Bryan has explored everything from animations to generative art and has one of the early art blocks drops called Nimbuds. Bryan's experience as a professional artist in the realm of media and television has placed him in a unique position in these early days of the Web3 and NFT movement. Bryan is a humble, smart, and interesting guy to talk to. In this episode, he discusses everything from collecting art to the emergence of AI. You can find a link to all of his socials and website here: https://www.bryanbrinkman.com

Rainer Hosch is a lifelong photographer. Originating from Vienna Austria, his career has taken him from Europe to New York and his current home in California. His career of over 30 years has given him an impressive client list from A list celebrities like George Clooney to musicians and financial industry icons. He entered the world of Web 3 with a sell out drop called 52 Icons. His works are indeed iconic and distinctive in style. His views on NFTs, Web 3, the future of art are sharp and enlightening.You can find all of his links here at his linktree: https://linktr.ee/rainerhosch

Dolce Paganne a.k.a Ceren Aksungur is an Istanbul “origin” artist based in Antwerp.She focuses in her surreal drawings on the “sinister” aspect that reside in the details of daily life.Obsessed with the hypnotic aspects of geometric forms, she loves constructing her work originated from a feeling like “sleep paralysis”, around images like dream/nightmare sequences.Besides that, she loves examining plants and birds, reading asian horror comic books, occult history, ancient mythology, watching dark movies and enjoys a lot listening to music.You can find links to all of her socials here: https://linktr.ee/dolcepaganne

Gary Cartlidge is a crypto-artist, graphic designer, street-artist and cyber surrealist since 2018. Through ‘NFT's' Gary went from janitor & making art from a closet to becoming a successful and prolific full time artist. Garys insight and experience as one of the crypto art scene OGs makes him a great interview subject. I hope you enjoy listening to him as much as I did. You can find a link to all of his socials here: https://garycartlidge.art/

This week my guest is none other than Patrick Amadon. Patrick is a prolific digital artist and influencer in the crypto art scene. Patrick is a Los Angeles based artist who has found a full time career through his stunning works of digital art and his active engagement in the Twitter realm. Patrick is a master of the art form known as “glitch” and has had some incredible sales on the prestigious platform, Superreare. You can find links to all of his works and website by following his linktree here: https://linktr.ee/patrickamadon

David Henry Nobody Jr. is a Brooklyn based performance and multimedia artist. Using a blend of makeup, performance, film, and photography he has amassed a large social media following and become a successful full-time artist now operating in the NFT/ Crypto art scene. You can find all of his socials in the linktree here: https://linktr.ee/davidhenrynobodyjr

This week my guest is Karen Jerzyk, photographer , painter, set builder, sculptor, and adventurer. Karen joined the NFT, Crypto art scene early in 2020 making her one of the OGs in the space. Her art is highly recognizable with iconic images of an astronaut in various dystopian and retro settings. She has had some very successful NFT projects including one called Average Creatures which has had almost 500eth volume in its time since its launch in March of 2022. Karen is an interesting and insightful speaker when it comes to all things NFT. You can follow her on Twitter @KJerzykPhoto or follow her on her website here: https://karenjerzykphoto.zenfolio.com/

This week I interview an emerging cryptoartist who goes by the pseudonym Pepe. Pepe is currently a student of film at San Francisco State University. He began dabbling in cryptoart in 2021 at the beginning of the hype cycle. Pepe is becoming well known in the space for his glitch art which is an art form that is becoming a stand out genre in the many forms of art happening in the NFT scene. Pepe's outlook on NFTs, Crypto art, art, film, and life are contagious. I loved his enthusiasm and excitement as he discusses his own personal journey. You can follow Pepe on Twitter @pepemedicieth or find all of his socials on his linktree here: https://linktr.ee/eliorstuff

Join me this week as I interview a legendary curator and gallerist of cryptoart. Chikai is a former tech world guru who was actually one of the creators of Google Earth. He is the Director of Web 3 at Niantic Labs one of the leading software compaines in the augmented reality space, and now the creator of The Monolith Gallery. The Monolith gallery is a leading platform in Web 3 for advocating for artists. The MG helps arrtists with visibilty, communtiy, and partenerships. All of this makes Chikai one of the most respected voices on crypto twitter as he has helped further the careers of countless artists.You can follow his Twitter @lifeofc or go to the Monolith Gallery website here: https://monolith.gallery/

Join me and my guest Mahnaji, the world's first visibly Muslim rooftopper. We dive into the subculture of urban explorers and the rooftopping community. Mahnaji has a uniqe voice in this space and uses her art (photography) to highlight important social subjects such as Free Palestine, emergency aid for Ukraine, obtaining N95 masks for hospitals in Harlem during the pandemic, raising awareness and and funds about the flooding in Pakistan / Puerto Rico, women's rights in Iran, worldwide Islamophobia, etcShe is an experimental photographer layering her photos with AI and animations to create her works. Her cryptoart drops have consisted mainly of jaw dropping views from skyscrapers and towers. She is an emerging artist in the cryptoart community.You can find her on Twitter @lilmahnajior or her linktree by clicking here: https://mintylinks.com//me/lilmahnaji

This week join me as I interview R4V3N, a pseudonymous generative artist from Boston, Massachusetts. He is a student of abstract expressionism and color field painting. His work explores the juxtaposition of computation with human emotion and experience.R4V3N is a coder and computer engineer who is now working for Proof (one of the leading media companies in the Web 3 space). He is a thoughtful, interesting guy,s who has had drops on the elite generative art platform Art Blocks and is currently minting a body of work with Bright Moments. You can fine R4V3N on Twitter @r4v3n_art or find links to all of his socials on his link tree here: https://linktr.ee/r4v3n_art

Gavin Shapiro is a digital artist who has been in the NFT/ Web 3 space since mid-2020. His artworks have a signature style and are primarily looping GIFs of his iconic characters such as penguins and flamingos. He has lived in New York, Osaka and Paris. Gavin has worked on projects such as tv commercials, large format outdoor displays and animations. His works and visual effects have been used for concerts and festivals, and have even been on display in Times Square. Gavin's animations have accumulated hundreds of millions of views across Instagram and Facebook, and his animations are becoming more and more recognizable. His NFTs are on Nifty Gateway and SuperRare, with new work regularly releasing. Gavin's works were even released alongside many other major cryptoartists in Paks last drop, called Ash Metamorphosis. You can find Gavin on Twitter @shapiro500 or his link tree here: https://lynkfire.com/shapiro500

Cristina Spinei is a composer and performer. She is most known for her work with ballet, having been commissioned by Nashville Ballet, the New York Choreographic Institute, the Pacific Northwest Ballet, and more.She is a gifted piano player from the age of 9, and has written for many orchestras and chamber ensembles.She attended Juilliard school of music obtaining a bachelor and masters degree there. Spinei's most recent project is her album Ex Voto, a showcase of lilting melodies, driving rhythms, and lush harmonies. She entered the crypto art scene with several successful drops. Her work can be collected on platforms like Mint songs and Async art. You can find a link to her website and of her socials here: https://www.cristinaspinei.com/links

Daniel Koeth, also known as DK, is an Arizona based photographer who makes a living doing video and photography work for clients. He is also a successful artist in the NFT/ Crypto realm. Joining the crypto art scene in early 2020, DK was one of the first artists to join the Pak craze and became the very first photographer in history to use “we accept ash” as a form of payment for his works of his art.DK has had several very successful NFT drops including Homage: A tribute to Pak, Washed Out, and The Nothing. He is a smart thoughtful and active participant in the web3 space. DK is easy to contact through his Twitter: @danielkoeth or you can find all of his drops through his linktree here: https://linktr.ee/dk.nft

Join me this week as I interview the crypto art OG Coldie. Coldie has made a name for himself in the NFT/ Cryptoart scene as an early adopter and a prolific artist. His art is created by using different types of stereoscopic 3D effects.Coldie started his journey as a cryptoartist with early works minted on R.A.R.E. art labs as far back as 2018. His genesis work titled “Proof of Work” dates back to September of 2018 as an ERC-20 token making him one of the first artists in history to experiment with cryptoart and NFTs.He has had successful sell out drops on Nifty Gateway, Async art, and Superrare. He has had many incredible collaborations including one with none other than Snoop Dog himself. Coldies work as an artist stand out in its unique 3D style. He has been a consistent creator and voice in the NFT space from the beginning. Many artists and creators in the space look to Coldie for advice and direction because of his grasp of the importance and significance of this movement. If you wish to follow Coldie you can find a link to all of his socials through his Twitter profile here: @Coldie or his link tree here: https://linktr.ee/coldie3d

This week my guest is the cross chain artist Victoria West. Her works can be found on both Tezos and Eth. Victoria is a Canadian photographer who has 15 years of experience in her field. She entered the crypto art scene in 2021 and has been very successful as an emerging artist in this realm. Her list of awards is impressive including Portrait Photographer of the Year - Professional Photographers of Canada in 2021, 2020 & 2019!Victoria is an active Twitter spaces speaker and has become an OG in the Objkt and Tezos collecting/ artist circles. She recently released a dynamic NFT drop on Objkt with Mycodecrafting that is pushing the boundaries of crypto art in to uncharted waters. Her works on the Ethereum blockchain can be collected on the prestigious Superrare platform. Her bio and website and socials can best be found through her Twitter profile: @vwestphoto_nb

Join me this week as I interview the Italian artist Mattia Cuttini. Mattia is a full time artist following his former career in tech. Mattia does graphic design, generative art, music, and crypto/ performance art. His signature style of art can be found on several platforms and he has been featured on SuperRare, KnownOrigin, Async Art and Medium to name a few. His recent project was a collaboration with another well known artist named Skygolpe, and the project was titled “Coded Selfies & Verba Manent”He is a cross chain artist with works on the ETH and Tezos blockchains. Starting with crypto art in 2018 Mattia is surely going to be a known innovator and OG in the space. You can find all of his socials through link tree here: Mattia Cuttini / Produkt | Twitter, Instagram, Facebook | Linktree

Eitan Barokas is a self taught artist living in New Jersey. While attending Emory University for a major in business he had a realization that he wanted to be an artist. Through painting and photography Eitan started his career by simply creating art whenever he could. He eventually set up on Prince street in Soho and started selling his creations. Thus began his career as a full time artist. Since his beginnings he has had several successful shows and sales. He admits to joining the crypto art scene late yet still having had a sell out drop “We Could Be Anywhere” on Nifty Gateway. Eitan is genuine, humble , talented artist, and Im so lucky to call him a friend. You can find out more about him and his art by following him on Twitter here: @Eitan_Don or at his website here: https://campsite.bio/eitan

Dave Pollot is a New York based artist who is known for his altered thrift art paintings.  He finds unwanted artwork and adds his own touch – most often pop culture parodies – and in doing so, bridges the divide between classic and pop art. His artwork has been displayed and found homes in galleries, businesses, and private collections in all 50 states and in over 40 countries around the globe.  His work has attracted attention from the media both in the U.S. and abroad, including Business Insider, Instagram, and the SyFy Channel, and his corporate clients include SONY, Instagram, and McDonalds among others.  In the crypto art scene Dave has had several successful drops on the platform Nifty Gateway and Open Sea. His floor prices have maintained an impressive stability even through the bear market and ETH turndown. When he's not painting, he can be found spending time with his wife and two dogs. You can find Dave at: https://www.davepollot.com or on Twitter @DavePollotArt

Katerine Escobar grew up in the city of Medellin and studied fine arts at Colombian National University. She is an accomplished illustrator who uses her iPad for most of her digital creations. Her artworks are full of symbolism with meanings that are poignant and important to modern conversations. Politics, religion, education, and complex socioeconomic issues are not off limits for Katerine. She describes her work as “ everyday objects and things in nature such as plants and animals that are deliberately combined to produce provocative, absurd, and sarcastic images. The character of my work is reflective, conceptual and, at the same time, endowed with a universal language that allows me to visualize and generate an immediate reaction from the viewer.” She recently jumped in to the crypto art scene thru her drops on Nifty Gateway curated by The Mad Pups! She has had two successful sell out drops and and her artworks are maintaining an impressive secondary floor price. You can find out more about her and links to all relevant socials through her linktree here: https://linktr.ee/KaterineArt

Jessica Cardelucci is a self-taught photographer from California. She is mostly a black and white photographer that takes a very minimalist approach to her work. Jessica's images are recognizable because of the intimate and monochromatic style. A true artist at heart she received a BFA from Chapman University where she majored in graphic design. She has received recognition from the IPA Int'l Photography Awards, Black & White Spider Awards, and the ND Awards. Jessica is a pioneer and early adopter to the crypto art movement sweeping the art world. Her images have been collected by the legendary collector 33NFT, she has sold art on SuperRare, and released a couple of editions successfully on her own contract. Jessica is a smart, interesting visionary in the NFT space and is active on Twitter where you can follow her latest endeavors. The best place to look up Jessica's socials is thru linktree here: https://linktr.ee/cardelucci

Marinel  Sheu is an Albanian illustrator, currently based in Dublin, Ireland. His self titled description “CEO of Vibes” is very apparent when you talk to him or see his work. His artworks have a distinct feel, color palate, and style. His words “I like telling stories through my art and capturing melancholy & nostalgia that speaks in a universal language”, speak to exactly his style! He has been acknowledged and appreciated globally as a commercial artist and worked with the likes of Disney, Gucci, Netflix and Vice. He recently jumped full force into the crypto art scene with his drop in May on the platform Nifty Gateway. His work was curated and promoted by the elusive and legendary collector 33 NFT. Marinel is also an artist featured on the Superare platform and has many planned upcoming drops in store for his fans.  I hope you enjoy his interview as much as I did! You can find Marinel on Instagram here:  https://www.instagram.com/marinelsheu/ Or his Twitter here: https://twitter.com/MarinelSheu

Jack Simpson, also known as ‘Jack the Street' on social media, is a Napa California-based commercial and fine art street photographer. His professional art career spans over several industries from food and wine, to technology and even healthcare. Prior to his career as a professional photographer Jack worked as a paramedic and spent some time as an EMS documentary photographer. His working photography aside, Jack has a strong interest in the fine art and creative projects he spends much of his time devoted to. Jack has made a name for himself as a fine art street photographer and won several prestigious awards he was recently published in The World Street Photography vol. 6. He is making a name for himself now in the crypto art scene and has NFT collections available on the platform Foundation, and more notably his recent acceptance to the prestigious Superrare. You can find out more about Jack by listening to my interview with him here on The Ledge or by following him at his socials here: https://linktr.ee/jackthestreet

This week's guest is Dave Krugman. Dave is an OG in the crypto art scene. A street photographer, an NFT artist, a community builder, a podcaster and all around cutting edge creator in the digital/ crypto world. He has launched several NFT projects since his emergence as a cutting edge NFT artist. Specters on Nifty Gateway, Drive (a photography collection), and his latest the critically acclaimed Drip Drop project he launched with the help of Transient Labs. Dave is a New York based street and professional photographer who has amassed a huge following on social networks. His Instagram page has over 300k followers and can be found at @Dave.krugman, He also is an active Twitter user who frequently posts threads that uplift and elevate other artists. @dave_krugman Several of my previous artists who have been interviewed on the Ledge have mentioned Dave as a thought leader and inspiration in their own art journey. You can find all of his social and links at his linktree here: https://linktr.ee/davekrugman

This week's guest out on The Ledge is Eric Rubens, a Southern California based photographer/videographer who enjoys traveling the world. He has amassed  over 470,000 followers on his Instagram channel @erubes1 along with hundreds of thousands of followers across his other social channels. He is a member of Sony's Alpha Imaging Collective and works closely with their team on camera products and launches. Eric is a cofounder of a progressive NFT project called Collective Strangers that has been well received in the Cryptoart community and has held up well in the bear market. I enjoyed interviewing Eric as he is a smart, interesting guy who has strong views about life, work, and the crypto and NFT art scene. You can find out more about him on his website at: http://www.ericrubensphotography.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erubes1/ Collective Strangers Twitter: https://twitter.com/strangersxyz Personal Twitter: https://twitter.com/erubes1

This weeks guest is Julius Margulies, aka “Snuffy." Snuffy is a multidisciplinary artist who has made a name for himself in the tattoo world, fine art world, and most recently the crypto art scene. His home-base is in Williamsburg, Brooklyn NY, however you can often find him traveling in Los Angeles, Costa Rica, and as far away as Europe and Germany. His physical artwork's have been featured at the Paleo Gallery in NYC, and several celebrities wear his tattoos. Snuffy made his way into the crypto art world through his first drop on Nifty Gateway, and has since had several more hugely successful projects. Two notable NFT drops of his are The Snuffy 500 which is a culmination of years of his hard work in the tattoo arena, and his Genesis drop on the Superrare platform titled “You'll Be Back”. Snuffy has created not only a body of work that is impressive and important in the NFT art world, but a community that is thriving on Discord. The community is a mix other artists, friends of Snuffy, and fans of his art. You can find out more about Snuffy by listening to this podcast or by following the links below to his social media and website: https://snuffy.nyc/ https://twitter.com/snuffynyc?s=21&t=vrweiHwGQELAnasSCndmQg https://instagram.com/snuffy.nyc?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

This week's guest is the artist known as Xsullo. Xsullo has a diverse and multidisciplinary background in art. Everything from analog painting and drawing to digital effects and VFX works in major motion pictures. The style and direction his art has taken in the crypto art scene has been described as “cybernetic post-gender Punk world”. With nods to anime and and cyberpunk culture, this artist has made a name for himself in the emerging world of NFTs and digital art. Featured on Superrare, and Nifty Gateway his works have been collected by major names in the Crypto art space. You can find links to his website and socials below: Twitter: @xsullo Website: https://www.xsullo.com/10927970-2022 IG: @xsullo

Our first guest on The Ledge is Michelle Viljoen, a designer, artist, and photographer. Michelle is part owner in an all-women South African design firm called Studio Co. that focuses on global design & strategy, consulting, brand development, marketing, and digital design in the web2 & web3 space. Michelle is an accomplished artist and photographer with a large following on twitter. She is currently working on an NFT drop for her art project called Slight of Hand. You can find links all of her socials and NFT collections through her linktree: https://linktr.ee/mich_viljoen

Welcome to The Ledge, a podcast about digital artists and what drives them to create art. Join Chris Harper as he gets personal with these insanely creative individuals, diving into their education, background, and why they do what they do. Subscribe now wherever you get your podcasts and we will see you out on The Ledge!