exlawyer

When an artist becomes culturally relevant, their work stands having a substantial, long-term economic value accrued to it.” As his name suggests, exlawyer practiced law for several years. He clerked for a federal bankruptcy judge before going into private practice representing debtors in complex Chapter 11 cases.

In 2020, exlawyer saw Bloomberg’s reports on NFTs, sat up, and took notice. He started a Twitter account and came across PFP projects. One of his first purchases was a Deadfellaz.

“I’ve always been a terrible trader. But what I am pretty good at is recognizing long-term holds. And I’m pretty good at finding good art.” This led exlawyer into the artist and collector community, where for the first half of 2022, he wrote weekly Twitter threads spotlighting artists. “I write about web3, tech, and art. It’s grown a nice community for me, and it’s been a lot of fun.”

When exlawyer, who also collects physical art, discovered one-of-one art and editions, “It was a natural fit for me.” exlawyer has 363 NFTs in his vault, 202 in his trading wallet, about 50 in his hot wallet, and “however many hundred I have on Tezos.”

exlawyer still thinks Tezos is a great place to collect, especially if your taste is developing. It’s reasonably priced, and the culture is about “creating and collecting awesome art.” He has been a publisher on Nifty Gateway since the start of the program and does a drop every month.

exlawyer receives a lot of DMs about art. “Ultimately, artists need to drive their own careers. I’m happy to give advice and insight where I can, but if I can ask the right questions to get somebody to realize what’s best for them, that’s even better.”

exlawyer asks three questions when considering an artwork – “Do I like it? Is the quality good? Is there an identifiable point of view? If there are 3 yeses, then it’s possible that the artist will catch fire in the cultural conversation of the day. When an artist becomes culturally relevant, their work stands having a substantial, long-term economic value accrued to it.”

There is too much advice from exlawyer for one page, so hit him up on Twitter to hear his take on the problem of discoverability in the space; the future of curation; his recommendation of Dead Ringers; the changes that the evolution of display tech will bring; and that success for an artist doesn’t have to include antiquated auction houses.