Breakdancing medic’s NFT auctioned at Sotheby’s — Grant Yun, NFT creator

Artist name: Grant Riven Yun 
Location: Milwaukee 
Date minted archetypal NFT: Feb. 3, 2021
Which blockchains? Ethereum, Counterparty (Bitcoin)

Who is he?

Grant Yun has ever been an creator astatine bosom with an aboriginal aspiration to person his enactment featured astatine a large auction house. A funny and motivated individual, Yun is studying medicine portion juggling his enactment arsenic an creator and performing arsenic a breakdancer who has competed each implicit the United States. 

Since discovering NFTs a small implicit 2 years ago, the Wisconsin nonmigratory has propelled his creation and idiosyncratic marque into the stratosphere overmuch quicker than he’d imagined. With a minimalist benignant that elicits nostalgic vibes among collectors and his witty property connected Twitter, Yun is slicing retired a important percent of mindshare amongst integer creation fans. 

“Before NFTs, I told myself I would go an creator who sells astatine a ample auction location 1 time because, astatine the time, that was my lone metric done which I knew what it meant to beryllium a palmy artist. I had nary acquisition being an creator overall, truthful that was the lone metric I had to measure.” 

He reached the metric successful October 2022:

“Having my enactment beryllium enactment up astatine Sotheby’s was surreal. I deliberation the astir pivotal infinitesimal for maine was erstwhile I signed the contract… It conscionable felt similar specified a monumental moment.”

Yun paid homage to NFTs arsenic the accelerant that helped him execute what mightiness different person taken a decade. 

“It’s honestly been surreal. I deliberation that the maturation of artists successful this abstraction is hyper accelerated. To person achieved what I’ve achieved shouldn’t hap wrong a decade. For me, it happened wrong 2 years of maine joining the space. But, present we are.” 

“Special Delivery, 2022” was enactment up for merchantability astatine Sotheby’s arsenic portion of the Xperience Digital Art Auction. Source: Sotheby’s

Personal style

Describing his ain chiseled style, Yun acknowledges the interaction of simplicity to evoke memories and the interaction of aged schoolhouse video games. 

“I spot my enactment arsenic minimalist and nostalgic,” helium says. “I deliberation my creation is truly focused connected being ambiguous capable to wherever radical tin subordinate to it with their ain idiosyncratic experiences, but circumstantial capable to wherever it tin elicit definite memories from people’s lives.”

“I effort to bounds the magnitude of details and clutter. It’s truly a little successful much benignant of mentality.”

“With the gaming vibes successful my art, it’s mostly based astir Nintendo games — peculiarly the Super Nintendo era, Nintendo 64 and GameCube. I consciousness similar Nintendo games, particularly the ones that were published by Nintendo themselves, person a precise circumstantial colour palette — a spot similar Pokemon and The Legend of Zelda. All of those person a precise unsocial and akin benignant of acceptable of colors.” 

Notable income to date:

“The Alien” from the bid “Space” sold for 136.9 ETH connected July 28, 2022 ($236,217 equivalent connected day of sale).

“The Alien.” Source: SuperRare

“Laundry” from the bid “Northeast” sold for 70 ETH connected Jan. 28, 2023 ($115,182 equivalent connected day of sale).

“Laundry.” Source: Art of This Millennium

“Casa Roja” from “Grant Yun Early Works” sold for 25 ETH connected Jan. 8, 2023 ($31,596.50 equivalent connected day of sale).

“Casa Roja.” Source: OpenSea

“En Route #7” from the “Grant Yun x Avant Arte” postulation sold for 16 ETH connected Jan. 3, 2023 ($19,426 equivalent connected day of sale).

“En Route #7.” Source: OpenSea

Influences

Traditional creation continues to supply inspiration, peculiarly established painters from the aboriginal to mid-20th century, specified arsenic American Gothic creator Grant Wood oregon the popular creator Ed Ruscha.

“Most of my inspiration comes from painters similar Grant and Ed and studying coating from the accepted creation world.” 

Yun added, “I should mention, I bash similar to permission easter egg, crypto-related things successful my illustrations. But the imaginativeness for wherever my creation is going I deliberation has remained the same.” 

“Young Corn,” 1931, by Grant Wood. Source: Cedar Rapids Museum of Art

What should artists beryllium paying attraction to? 

As a pupil of the integer creation crippled and a large instrumentality of generative creation successful particular, Yun says Mpkoz is 1 to ticker retired for. Mpkoz is the creator down the notable postulation “Chimera.” 

Also receiving props from Yun is Summer Wagner, an emerging NFT lensman who Justin Aversano besides rated successful a caller NFT Creator. 

“Two of my favorites close present are decidedly Summer and Mpkoz. There’s truthful galore others I cognize I’m leaving retired though.” 

“Metropolis,” mint #0 (Berlin) from ArtBlocks x Bright Moments collaboration, by Mpkoz. Source: Twitter

Process 

Known for his quality to uncover the charm successful commonplace surroundings, Yun is besides a instrumentality of categories and creating enactment successful a series. 

“When I make an illustration, I effort for the astir portion to sub-categorize them into definite series. I deliberation I bash my champion enactment successful a series,” Yun said. 

“To me, it helps due to the fact that I similar to presumption the satellite successful a categorical manner. I besides deliberation a batch of radical bash the aforesaid subconsciously oregon consciously. I judge this is wherefore we ever spot a large accent connected collecting a acceptable oregon adjacent collecting successful general. For continuity’s involvement for myself and besides for collecting,” helium says. “I effort to enactment with precise akin themes from past illustrations.”

Having moved from the hustle and bustle of California to the quieter fields of Wisconsin, Yun is passionate astir telling a communicative wrong his creation simply by being contiguous and observing what is close successful beforehand of him. 

“All of my themes travel from my experiences, similar wherever I’ve lived and peculiar memories I’ve had. When I acceptable retired to make an illustration, I benignant of dwell and deliberation of a creation successful my head. For example, if I’m driving determination and I spot a random happening connected the broadside of the road, I’ll person a creation travel to my head, but I past effort to signifier that creation into a bid that I’m moving on.” 

“Another illustration mightiness be, if I look retired of the model and I spot a building, I’ll effort to marque definite that I’ll usage that gathering arsenic a reference, but the illustration itself volition effort to embody 1 of the antithetic themes that I person going on.” 

“Store” from “Grails II.” Source: Proof.xyz

Musings connected the caller artist/collector narration via NFTs

Yun says the artist-collector narration is wholly antithetic successful the NFT satellite than successful the accepted creation world. “Prior to NFTs, artists were represented by galleries, and the galleries were the enactment of connection for collectors and buyers. It was astir discouraged — and it inactive is astir discouraged — for artists to bash nonstop transactions oregon communications with collectors. This is successful implicit opposition to what is happening close present successful the Web3 space,” Yun says. 

Like different creators, helium attributes his beingness connected societal media to gathering up a following. “If I’m being honest, I bash deliberation portion of my occurrence is owed to however progressive I americium connected Twitter and however consenting and anxious I americium to speech to people.” He adds that helium doesn’t deliberation “the worth of creation should beryllium wholly dictated by one’s willingness to beryllium progressive connected Twitter.” 

“I bash consciousness for radical who mightiness not beryllium successful their 20s similar I am, oregon who mightiness not beryllium technologically savvy capable oregon person the acquisition similar I bash being astir exertion fundamentally since birth.”

“Seize The Memes Of Production” from “The Memes by 6529” collection. Source: OpenSea

Links: 

Grant Yun website 
Breakdance grounds and video
Grails III Artist Reveal Show 
SuperRare