Grant Yun is a person of many hats.
Regardless of being a medical pupil by day and a break dancer by night time, the Milwaukee resident has managed to make his mark on the digital artwork market with six-figure gross sales and auctions at Christie’s and Sotheby’s. His Neo-Precisionist paintings regularly explores landscapes and surroundings native to the Midwest and has change into immediately recognizable within the NFT area.
In a considerate interview, Yun explains how he manages time between his artwork profession and research, shares ideas for constructing a robust collector base, and opens up on staying grounded regardless of the challenges of the bear market.
Matt Medved: You could have a very fascinating backstory. Inform us a bit about juggling medical faculty, break dancing, and all of the completely different pursuits you do whereas nonetheless additionally making your manner into NFTs and having an actual breakthrough in crypto artwork.
Grant Yun: I’ve been an artist my complete life, and once I went to varsity, I wished to begin doing digital illustrations. I picked that up, type of self-taught from the bottom up. I began illustrating on PowerPoint, principally as a result of I had no different instruments; I didn’t know of another instruments. However I taught myself so much about artists and knew the kind of artwork I wished to convey. On the time, I simply didn’t have the abilities or the instruments to create the issues I wished to, however the imaginative and prescient has all the time been there.
Then through the years, I’ve simply been slowly grinding away at bettering my model and discovering a novel voice for myself as an artist. Once we start as artists, it’s generally tough to create a method of your personal that’s distinctive. It took me numerous trial and error to get there. However finally, I bought to a degree the place I used to be very pleased and assured with the model that I create.
In the direction of the tip of 2020, I began listening to about Beeple, about issues known as metaverse lands, like on Decentraland. I’ve all the time been a fairly large proponent of crypto. I all the time believed in Bitcoin and decentralized currencies. So, I seemed into it, and there was this utility to SuperRare. I didn’t know what a Metamask was. I didn’t actually know that facet of Twitter. I didn’t know any of that. However I believed I’d put myself on the market.
I utilized for SuperRare after which fully forgot about it. In February of 2021, I bought onboarded and accepted. That’s once I minted my first NFT. The journey of getting from there to the place I’m right now, and even once I began digital illustrations, has all the time been about pushing the boundaries of what I feel I can probably do with my life.
The Story Behind My Artwork
-Grant Riven Yun (November, 2022)Hyperlink under and full textual content in thread 👇
1/🧵 pic.twitter.com/SUPJmR0iLl— Grant Riven Yun (@GrantYun2) November 5, 2022
You’re additionally recognized for having fairly a particular inventive model. You’ve cited some influences like Grant Wooden and Ed Ruscha as influences up to now. How would you describe your model, and the place do you draw that inspiration from?
I’ve talked fairly extensively in regards to the artists that encourage me, and also you’ve talked about a pair. In fact, I even have another artists, like numerous 1900s painters, and extra not too long ago, the Impressionists have been inspiring me as nicely. However one thing I don’t discuss too usually is simply following my imaginative and prescient. That appears so cliche and ambiguous, however what I imply is that once I begin an illustration, except it’s a fee, I simply begin with a really ambiguous idea and simply go at it.
It has no finish purpose to it. There’s nothing I need to put in it. The one factor I need to be sure that of is that it’s adequately subtle that individuals can relate to it from their very own private lives. And once I illustrate, the priority is, are the vibes proper? If the vibes usually are not proper, then I want to return at it or cease it.
I discovered this candy spot at this level the place I’m in a position to create illustrations that I need to showcase, however on the identical time are ambiguous sufficient, like I discussed, the place different individuals can take a look at [them] and suppose, ‘oh, that is one thing from my life or one thing from my previous or the place I stay or a selected reminiscence that I’ve had that I can relate to.’ And that’s actually what my artwork is about. It’s actually about connecting emotionally with different individuals.
“Lots of my collectors truly get pleasure from trying on the items they personal from me… there’s a really deep emotional connection.”
Grant Yun
The collector base you’ve constructed up through the years is spectacular. What recommendation do you’ve gotten for artists trying to do the identical?
Constructing a robust collector base is a tough process, and I feel some artists have it simpler than others; for instance, Tyler Hobbs and Dimitri Cherniak. Their artwork is phenomenal to the purpose the place there is no such thing as a doubt that it’s going to be one thing useful sooner or later. It’s lower than me to determine who has good artwork and who doesn’t. The market dictates that.
I feel a part of the explanation I’ve a robust collector base is that a lot of my collectors truly get pleasure from trying on the items they personal from me. Collectors usually attain out to me about how this specific illustration reminds them of the place they grew up, the place they have been born, the place they met their companion, the place they’d their first child, the place they went to highschool, or the place they work now. There’s a really deep emotional connection.
One other factor is being lively on Twitter. I’ve realized it’s necessary to chew your tongue generally if you happen to’re closely opinionated on one thing. Sometimes, these issues that you just’re extremely opinionated on type of work themselves out anyhow, and also you don’t should be caught up within the fireplace whereas it’s occurring.
It’s being self-aware of your personal artwork model and your web presence on Twitter. For instance, I bear in mind once I first met Vincent Van Dough (VVD) on Twitter. It was as a result of I created this random Pepe in 2021. This was earlier than I knew what Pretend Rares have been. I knew of the Nakamoto card however didn’t know the Pepe group was so sturdy. VVD commented on it and adopted me that day after he noticed that. Then one other collector reached out to me and mentioned, ‘Hey, I can onboard you to those issues known as Pretend Rares.’
I met numerous collectors and artists by Pretend Rares, and I’ve helped onboard numerous artists as nicely onto that platform. So, one door opens one other, so long as you’re receptive and also you’re keen to listen to individuals out and be self-aware and in addition conscious of the established order and the memes which might be occurring on Twitter and the macro and micro issues which might be occurring on the earth.
How do you handle your time to provide your artist profession the eye it deserves whereas seeing by the dedication you’ve made to medical faculty?
There are issues that you may sacrifice and issues you may’t. For instance, I may give up video gaming. I get pleasure from taking part in video video games, however that’s extra so a interest than being an artist, proper? It’s very tough for me to surrender being an artist. I feel setting a really clear set of absolute musts and issues I can not surrender regardless of how busy I’m is necessary. Even going for a run, these are issues that I don’t suppose I may surrender as a result of a run takes anyplace from half-hour to an hour, two hours for me. And I can take heed to podcasts. I can take heed to on-line lectures.
That’s truly what I did for principally the primary three years of medical faculty. I’d simply go to the gymnasium. I’d take heed to my lectures for 2 hours on the gymnasium. It nearly felt like I didn’t waste a single minute. I’m truly in the direction of the tip of medical faculty now, so I’ve been by actually the toughest elements of medical faculty whereas I used to be doing all this NFT stuff. So, I do know the rigorous calls for that medical faculty has and juggle all of that. I’d say the very first thing is being good at multitasking.
“There are issues that you may sacrifice and issues you may’t.”
Grant Yun
It’s about understanding your priorities. For instance, the timeline for being an artist is considerably stretched out in comparison with being a physician. Being a physician means going from room to room, seeing a affected person for quarter-hour, and you then go right into a surgical procedure. Whereas there’s not this sense of immediacy as an artist. After I’m engaged on tasks, I can plan for a 12 months upfront. A number of the issues I’m dropping this 12 months have been within the works for a 12 months. So, I enable myself that point, and I’m given that point, and it’s nearly crucial that I do have that point to work on my artwork, work on the advertising and marketing, work on the drops with the corporate.
I developed my model of artwork lengthy earlier than medical faculty. So, I type of knew what I used to be doing. On the identical time, whereas I wasn’t on Twitter essentially, I had numerous expertise on Instagram selling issues. I had that basis of understanding work together, what memes are, and all of that. Coming into NFT Twitter, I didn’t essentially need to be taught all that from the bottom up, so once I began medical faculty, there was no time battle the place I wanted to spend all this time growing my artwork model. Take that point to actually develop the stuff you need to work on when issues are sluggish. When the time comes, and issues choose up, and you’ve got 10,000 issues in your to-do listing, no less than you accomplished the stuff you wished to, so you’ve gotten extra time to do different issues.
Let’s dive extra immediately into the topic of psychological well being. Clearly, there are numerous stresses and pressures of being an artist in an area as unstable and fast-moving as NFTs and Web3. After which there are the stresses and pressures of being at medical faculty. How do you keep grounded?
The extra I give it some thought, the one factor that grounds me greater than something, apart from my household and the crucial individuals in my life, is listening to music. I’m a really large music particular person. I do my greatest to discover as many genres as potential. I used to be serious about this yesterday truly, funnily sufficient. I used to be so unhappy that I may not have sufficient years in my life to discover all of the music that I want to.
If I’m creating a selected illustration, then I’ll have some songs that I take heed to. Typically once I’m illustrating one thing that jogs my memory of, for instance, my drive dwelling from work, then I’ll be listening to simply the stuff that I take heed to once I’m driving dwelling from work. That places me within the temper to convey precisely what it’s I need to present. I’d wish to play that whereas I’m illustrating to actually totally immerse myself into no matter it’s.
One of many issues that’s attribute of the NFT and crypto area is the volatility. There are the bulls and the bears, and all the market cycles. For a lot of artists within the NFT area, this sort of bear market is a brand new expertise. From your personal expertise, having been within the NFT area for a very long time, what has it been wish to navigate as an artist, and what have been the challenges and alternatives you’ve discovered inside that dynamic?
I’ve been lucky. I’m conscious of the scenario that we’re in as an area, however there’s additionally luck blended in for positive. I haven’t been hit as arduous. I feel I’m doing pretty nicely within the area, all issues thought-about. However the area is tough proper now. I feel numerous artists can construct. I do know speaking about constructing is sort of a meme at this level as a result of everybody’s constructing.
However I feel any artist who’s genuinely constructing and creating and bettering upon themselves, so long as they’re severely trying into constructive suggestions and bettering upon no matter it’s they need to, when issues flip round for the higher, it’ll change into very clear who truly was doing the constructing and who was simply saying they have been and weren’t doing something.
I additionally suppose that those that are right here now and haven’t left, regardless of perhaps not having a sale [in a long time], will in all probability be extra rewarded, not solely due to the luggage that they’re holding or the artwork they’re placing out. There are issues that different persons are going to overlook out on which might be occurring proper now. There are some distinctive and thrilling issues occurring in 2023 regardless of the situation of the market. Individuals who aren’t listed here are simply going to overlook out.
Thrilled to announce “Midwest” will probably be included in Christie’s Submit-Struggle & Up to date Artwork Day Sale occurring stay in NYC on Might twelfth!
Bodily you say? included alongside the NFT 🫡💯
Hyperlink under to the public sale.
1/🧵 pic.twitter.com/0WoHGIIky3— Grant Riven Yun (@GrantYun2) April 21, 2023
Once we discuss your inventive profession, you’ve gotten achieved some main milestones; the foremost public sale gross sales at Sotheby’s and Christie’s come to thoughts. What do you think about to be in your bucket listing? What are some stuff you need to obtain sooner or later?
That’s an excellent query. The following factor that I’m trying towards might be a present. Both a solo or a gaggle exhibition could be one thing that I’m trying ahead to. I’m engaged on a physique of labor proper now that I want to showcase sooner or later, hopefully inside the subsequent 12 months. I assume we’ll simply need to see the way it pans out.
It’s been actually tough to wrap my head round what it means to be an artist within the NFT area and the overarching artwork area as a result of we’re like a self-sufficient, sustainable group right here, proper? I imply, no Christie’s, no Sotheby’s, no galleries. We will, and we have now been, type of self-sufficient. The NFTs which might be being bought, for essentially the most half, are from crypto-native sources.
We’re slowly branching out to completely different sectors and completely different areas of the world and attempting to onboard as many individuals as potential whereas we’re doing that. However discovering an id as an artist has been tougher than I believed it will be. I say that as a result of it’s simpler to search out an id on the web as an web persona creating NFTs. However now that I’m doing my greatest to attempt to escape into a distinct area, it’s basically ranging from the bottom up.
Positive, my artwork might need the next price ticket, however that doesn’t actually imply very a lot, personally talking, in comparison with gaining these experiences working with galleries or museums and dealing with a distinct facet of artwork that numerous us simply haven’t seen and haven’t gone by. I feel it’s going to be difficult but additionally actually thrilling. My subsequent large purpose actually is simply to attempt to develop a profession in artwork from the bottom up.
This interview transcript has been edited for concision and readability.
For the total and uncut interview, take heed to our podcast episode with Grant Yun.
