Who are you?
My name is Caio, im a 25 year old artist from Florianopolis, Brazil
You have gained a small yet dedicated following pretty quickly. Was this a masterplan or a lucky Surprise?
A bit of both. I have other projects on HEN, so I knew the “works” already a bit. But never would have thought that I would blow up and get a dedicated group of collectors with their eyes on me so quickly!
When did you start making art?
About 12 years ago. I started with graffiti art really early, those street art references definitely shaped the art style and vision that I have today.
Why NFTs and why Tezos?
Because this is the new paradigm for art and artists. Never in history have we had such an autonomy of releasing and selling our work. And tezos is awesome for the low fees and relatively fast transactions. Outside NFT’s and all I think Tezos itself will be HUGE one day.
Explain the process of making a piece.
Quite simple to be honest. I emulate a DOS computer, run Deluxe Paint 2, and start composing. Already experimenting with abstraction for 5+ years now, so those knowledges are the key in building those eye catchy pieces that are the artfkts.
What adds value to your art?
Mystery, a bit of scarcity, and uniqueness. It’s like a fine art collectible.
Do you like being surprised by the outcome of your art or do you like being in full control of how it looks from start to finish?
Definitely the surprise option! Sometimes I make some pallets, I put it to cycle and then it really comes to light and I’m like “holy sh*t, this is looking great”. Deluxe Paint is a very unforgiving software, you can only undo once, so I NEED to be in the control in some way.
What inspires you?
Learning new tools and techniques. I’m a medium/process maximalist, that’s why I love and dwelled in the field of abstraction so much. School of New York neo-expressionism is definitely on the top of my list of art references.
Are there any artists we should keep an eye out for?
TypeExplorer has been doing a really cool project. Using HEN as a medium, not a platform itself. That’s a sign of visionary tendencies IMO. Pushing the platform itself to a whole new level of cool.
What do you have planned next?
Keep working on DOS. Go back doing more hard medium painting (you can follow me on GrotesqueChiq, that’s my “main” art account per say). Getting more gallery eyes here in Brazil on NFT’s, they are literally sleeping so much on the matter.
Anything else?
A tip for new artists: never stop testing and exploring new tools, styles, techniques. Don’t feel tied to a certain “style” or something. Produce and consume art looking at it on multiple perspectives. And remember: on the internet, you can always start from scratch and be whoever you want!
