… on merging the old and the new with NFT art
“Somewhere in my collections, in my work, it’s a real dream and a nostalgic feeling. That’s how I always feel about my art. Mostly, I start work with my feelings, not the ideas.”
Pixelord has always been an artist. His journey at art school started at a very young age, throughout his childhood in the 1990s in Russia. Prior to entering the NFT world, Pixelord worked as a musician, composing and creating electronic music since 2003. He created music and art professionally for years.
Pixelord explains how he got into the crypto industry: “A few friends and I mostly started with Bitcoin and Ethereum. I kind of switched because it became boring. Also, we didn’t have NFTs back in the day, and now it’s the same as crypto.”
After learning about crypto in 2017 and dabbling in the industry, he eventually developed his first NFT artwork in 2021. “It was on Rarible and it actually sold. Just the same day, I minted it. I finished the work in a couple of days, and I really liked it, so I created it on Rarible around March. I had a Twitter account with 50k followers, and I was like, “yo, guys, I made my first NFT.” It sold for 0.5 ETH. I was like, “what? It’s crazy, I need to make more.”
Pixelord’s love of music is a constant in his artworks, with the piano being a recurring motif throughout his work. He says that he always tries to include his love of music in his collections.
“Mostly, I try to make something musical. I made collections with music characters called ‘Meta Ravers.’ I made something, and if you go to Foundation, you see some musical instruments and DJs playing. I have lots of stuff about music, basically. And also about surrealism, internet culture, and pop culture, by including things like memes mixed with music.”
Pixelord adds: “I use retro game ideas and references all the time. My recent new collection is called ‘Heroes of Wifi and Magic,’ and it’s currently almost sold out 85 out of 100.” It features brilliantly created retro pixel art and lo-fi art-style characters sitting at their laptops and Wifi.
He also uses AI in his works, incorporating new-age and older techniques in his collections. He shares: “Somewhere in my collections, in my work, it’s a real dream and a nostalgic feeling. That’s how I always feel about my art. Mostly I start work with my feelings, not the ideas.”
For Pixelord, NFTs have created a space and energy reminiscent of the good ol’ Myspace and Soundcloud days. This is only the beginning for him, and he hopes that with the growth of the NFT industry, opportunities to make art in different mediums, such as music, will arise.
