Welcome to “An NFT Evening With…”, a weekly feature where we shine a spotlight on some of the talented NFT artists in our community. This week we’re featuring Alex Benedith, a Brazilian artist specializing in moody, cyberpunk-inspired images. Read on to find out where Alex finds inspiration, and what about the crypto art world he thinks is “magic”…
NFT Evening: Your piece “Being Watched” is a gorgeous work showing a kind of surrealist cyberpunkian dystopia. The textures, colours and rendering create a mood that’s jarring but familiar. Can you tell us a little bit about it?
Alex Benedith: “Being Watched” was my very first NFT sold on Foundation. It portrays the privacy that we don’t have nowadays, you are constantly being watched and it affects us in our life choices.
NFTE: That’s very true, especially for those of us who live online. It’s why artists, who put themselves out there through their work, are so impressive. In this chaotic world of ours, where do you get your inspiration from?
Benedith: I work with art management, and to have a creative mind is a prerequisite. I have the Asperger’s syndrome and it kind of makes me see the world with other eyes, and I try to put it in my artworks in an attempt of showing everyone what I see.
Entry into the NFT-verse
NFTE: So how did you get into NFTs in the first place?
Benedith: The first time I heard about NFT was through my friends. Many of them constantly asked me to join the community and sell my artworks as NFT.
NFTE: It’s a good thing they did! So why did you start making your own NFT art?
Benedith: I started because of my friends and after reading lots of articles and news involving NFT, it made me really curious and interested. I joined this world as a mean to pursue my dream to live off my art, which is what I know how to do and love to do.
NFTE: That’s something we hear from many artists: the idea that, before NFTs, earning a living off art was more of a dream than a goal. What about NFTs makes this possible, do you think?
Benedith: I see that the NFT came to change the barrier that the artist had to sell his art, knocked down several walls until his work reached an art collector or appreciator, with a few clicks today you can display your work for sale and this is something that has benefited me over the last few months and so many other artists. With NFT, it is and will be possible to make a living from art.
Before, you struggled to be noticed by a company and dreamed of an artistic position in it. Today you create a gallery on one of the NFT sites and you sell your art. You are earning to do what you love most, this is magic.
NFT art on the mind
NFTE: So let’s get back to the magic. “Being Watched” is a really striking image. I’m wondering how you do something like that? It feels like a photo from a fantasy world. What tools did you use?
Benedith: I made [“Being Watched”] through 3D software (Blender 3D) and was finished with post-production in Photoshop, I combine 3D with 2D in the process and so create my art. I often involve a lot more programs, it might be 4 to 5 to get to a process like this.
NFTE: Another process question: when and where do you do your art?
Benedith: I usually don’t have a fixed schedule. Whenever I find the inspiration I will come to my computer and start working.
NFTE: It seems like the right strategy! Now, when it comes to your art, what do you hope people will take away from it?
Benedith: I wish people would feel and understand everything behind every work of mine. I try to tell a small story in every single art, all of them has it’s own meaning in a different universe that is my mind and they all are connected. Only when people understand this connection is when they’ll connect with me.
Alex Benedith, looking to the NFT future
NFTE: Speaking of connections, do you have any favourite NFT artists you follow?
Benedith: I surely do! @Stuz0r is my inspiration. He is the reason I started studying 3D art. Now, I try to unify 3D and 2D creating my artworks.
NFTE: Last question before we go, and it’s a big one. What do you think is the future of NFTs, and how do you see yourself in that future?
Benedith: The future is very bright, it’s an ascending marketplace and it’ll benefit not only me but a lot of artists. As long as I can continue to touch everyone’s heart with my arts in the future, that is enough for me.
A very big thank you to Alex for taking the time to talk with us this week. You can find Alex online in all kinds of places, like Twitter, Instagram, Foundation, Hic et Nunc and of course his website.
Tune in next week for another peek into the NFT art world, and in the meantime, be sure to follow Alex everywhere you can. This is your “I knew him when…” moment. Don’t miss out!
Note: This interview has been edited for space and clarity.