Art Angels: the Digital and Physical Blur

Mika Bar On Nesher: What made you want to apply to become a SuperRare Space?

Connor Senay: As an innovative gallery intent on exploring all new frontiers of art, we quickly realized the value of being a positive contributor and community organizer in Web3. Acknowledging SuperRare as the premier marketplace for 1/1 art, most similar to our Los Angeles gallery, we wanted to become involved with the $RARE community in a way that echoed our mission of artist empowerment for as large of a community as possible. After connecting with Paloma, a wonderful business developer and curator for SuperRare, at her inaugural curation and collaboratively hosting a metaphysical exhibition in our gallery space, we knew this would be a fruitful partnership worth growing in every possible avenue.

Aesthetic bliss accompanied by a meaningful narrative is our mantra, and we wanted to bring that from 3D to Web3.

MBON: How do you see the bridge between physical and digital galleries evolving in the coming months?

CS: Since the influx of NFT frames, we’ve seen the capabilities of physical galleries to partner with digitally native ones and exhibit works on a variety of immersive displays. Our metaphysical exhibitions, “Meta Spectrum” and “Textures of Us,” are exemplary of the imminent fusion between these two worlds as we showcased a multitude of physical works that accompanied the NFTs on display. We have a 36 square-foot digital canvas installed in our exhibition space to bring a greater understanding to our collectors of how cryptoart is changing how we experience art.

Vellum LA, a gallery on Melrose Ave which specializes in NFT showcases, is one of our favorite examples of cutting-edge, breathtaking technology brought to its audience in an approachable way.

 MBON: What are some of the challenges of running a Space? What advice do you have for collectives or galleries that are thinking of applying in the next Space Race?  

CS: Running a Space requires having a pulse on the movement of Web3 on a consistent basis and being deliberate with your curations i.e. theme, artists chosen, etc. Make sure that every aspect of releasing a curation is done with careful intent. Marketing is also crucial on all possible fronts from all parties involved.

Engaging with colleagues or collectors in the space is highly valuable as well. This space moves incredibly quickly, and it can be difficult to find a perfect selection of artists, so it is useful to gauge what they’ve seen from your genre of choice that excites them.

MBON: What are important pillars for you when selecting artists? 

CS: When we select artists, we care deeply about their intent to create and letting their work evolve with them. We are genuinely elated to receive new works and showcase them, and we seek artists who feel that same way about creating and sharing.

Artists with a story and sentiment behind their work resonate most with us as we are keen on telling these stories to engage collectors and illustrate deeper meanings.

MBON: Do you think traditional collectors will start entering the scene? Do you find an interest from the traditional art world? 

CS: Traditional collectors will enter the scene in two ways: by genuine, independent curiosity and by education from galleries like us. It is imperative to educate people on the wonder and opportunity that lies within the cryptoart scene. Many art enthusiasts who enter our gallery to see physical works end up even more awe-struck by the Eleusis Digital Canvas gracing our exhibition space. It is an undeniable demonstration of the versatility of cryptoart, and as a gallery, we’ve found accompanying the physical artwork with a digital asset for provenance purposes resonates most with traditional collectors who are in the process of learning about the schematics of Web3.

MBON: Who are some of your favorite artists in the space currently? 

CS: We love our entire artist roster currently featured in our Space for their love of creation, varied aesthetics and rich stories behind their works (Michael Callas, David Uessem, Flore, Ignacio Gana, Floyd Strickland, Abieyuwa, Jekein Lato-Unah, Blessing Atas, Yinkore).

Outside of who we’ve curated, our favorite artists in the space are Micah Johnson, Sinclair, Jesse Draxler, Amber Vittoria, Lethabo, Claire Salvo, Tjo, Mediolanum, nishant, Schauermann, Lindsey Price, Grant Yun, Rich Caldwell, Reuben Wu, Tishk Barzanji, mae, hemily, Bumpy, UntitledArmy, Killer Acid…the list could go on forever, but those are a selection of who we are always eager to see as they release new works. The eclecticism of that list is why we love this space.

MBON: Tell us a little about your mission as a SuperRare Space, what do you have to achieve in the far future?

CS: Our mission is to empower underappreciated artists, curate magnificently creative minds and build a community around a love of art. A multitude of our physical artists have digital origins, so it has been a pleasure to onboard them into this Space to allow their native creations to flourish in a new, unprecedented light. 

We want to become a digital sanctuary that fosters meaningful arts & technology discussions, provides insight for what’s to come, and assists artists and collectors in understanding Web3 to the fullest. Immersion is the future, and we are adamant on bringing the digital to life in unforeseen ways through this forward-thinking Space.