EXPRESSIVE ABSTRACTION

“I’ve learned from NFTs that no matter what country or environment you grow up in, we all share the same sense of beauty.”

Since A Mashiro jumped into the NFT space in September 2021, he’s left many collectors, fellow artists and people spellbound by his style. Born and raised in Japan, A Mashiro began work as an artist in 1998 and has held numerous solo and group exhibitions in Tokyo, Kyoto and other cities. In 2011 he added photography to his disciplines. He traded cryptocurrency for several years, but it was only in 2021 that he decided to explore NFTs. “I learned about the highly artistic nature of NFTs, and I thought it would be a good experience for me to create digital artworks after only being involved in physical works of art. Joining the NFT space has been incredible to be able to share my work with people from all over the world. And, making friends worldwide because of art – it makes me realize how small the world I had been aware of actually was.”

His style is reminiscent of Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Helen Frankenthaler’s abstract expressionism. He is influenced by the artists that assembled in the 1950s to the 1980s to define the American (and the world’s) art movement during that period and is inspired by other artists across mediums.

A Mashiro’s artworks embody the decentralization of what NFT art and the blockchain stand for: spontaneity, personal expression, and freedom. Color is widely used with broad gestural brushstrokes, lines and bold shapes.

Where does he see the NFT space in five years from now? “I think more artists will join the NFT space. By then, the barriers between physical art and NFT art will be lowered; NFTs will become regarded as a category in the same way as oil painting or sculpture.”

A Mashiro’s a prolific artist. His bold style is distinctive in the NFT space. It helps him to position himself as an artist and shape and shift the digital space through his art for fellow Japanese artists.