CAN Review – Kyle Gold’s work has a very intimate aesthetic that incorporates elegant line work with subtle tonal work and intricate pattern. The artwork above combines the figure of a naked woman with colourful markings that depict flowers, teardrops and dotted pathways that lead to a broken heart. The glance over the shoulder seems demure yet knowing, and adds to the sense of intimacy. The artist himself describes his art in the following excerpt from his interview:
My art is my celebration of life. It is personal to my experiences and perspective on the world. I like to explore themes like sexuality, death, mental health, and spirituality in an uncensored and honest way.
Kyle Gold
The next animated artwork uses very intricate and consistent line work to depict circuit boards, both in the backdrop and on the skin of the female android itself. In contrast, the headphones, hair and face are rendered with a more pastel or chalk-like tonal quality. The animated face mask reveals the inner workings of this mechanical character, and we are left to consider whether the music is causing this particular effect.
The final piece reveals a wonderful composition that contains a strong shamanic-like figure with a large single eye where the facial features should be. Swirling black and white lines are complimented with several rainbow curves and coloured bands that possibly signify the mystical and pscyhedelic elements of the image. The image is one that delights the senses through the juxtoposition of monochromatic and colourful areas. There is a world of meaning here that the artist is conveying within the composition and the strange and symbolic nature of it means that it can be interpreted in many ways.
Kyle’s artwork and interview leaves a lasting impression. This is an artist who has a wealth of life-experience, talent and imagination to infuse his art with real meaning and vivid imagery for many years to come. We invite you to spend some time exploring Kyle’s work in the links below, as there are many more examples to enjoy on Rarible and SIGN-Art.App.
Name
Kyle Gold
Social media links and website profiles
https://rarible.com/kylegold2020
https://mainnet.sign-art.app/user/3P6Rs6HGAJoBndqDsAT9kQFLbDm8NvfVmGx https://www.instagram.com/kylegold2020
https://twitter.com/kylegold2020
What is your background as an artist in general?
I’ve been an artist for as long as I’ve been able to hold a pencil. Art for me, has always been intimately tied with the challenges I’ve had to face and overcome. I grew up with a lot of instability, and learned to use art as a form of therapy starting at a young age. I would fill up journals with comics, drawings of made-up creatures, super heroes, abstract doodles, anything I could imagine. I am largely self-taught but I did have some great art teachers in elementary and high school that really inspired me. I originally planned to attend the California College of the Arts in Oakland after high school; but not long after graduating, my mom passed away suddenly as a result of an abusive relationship. Experiencing that changed everything for me and I stopped doing art for a long time following that.
I ended up working as an advocate at a shelter for domestic violence victims 4 years later. Helping people in my community in that way felt really uplifting; and it allowed me to reconnect with myself. I gradually started creating art again around that time. At the start of 2020, I became disabled due to a work-related back injury. There were a lot of things that I couldn’t do anymore, but I saw it as an opportunity to focus on what I could do (art) and began teaching myself digital illustration in Photoshop, Procreate, and Illustrator. I started studying graphic design at Foothill College as well. All of the challenges I encountered on my journey as an artist ultimately led me to where I am now, and I couldn’t be happier with that.
What is your overall process in generating art?
When I get an idea for something, I start by sketching it out usually with pencil; then I will trace over the sketch layer (with pencil again or pen) to clean up the lines and refine my ideas. Sometimes I look at references when I want to portray something realistically, but my favorite way of creating is definitely by drawing spontaneously from imagination. I love working with the basics, just pencil and paper. My favorite brushes in Procreate are the default pencil brushes. Bringing a traditional style and method of creating art to digital applications is something that I’m very passionate about.
How would you describe your art in your own words?
My style combines a lot of what I admire most about surreal and psychedelic art. My art is my celebration of life. It is personal to my experiences and perspective on the world. I like to explore themes like sexuality, death, mental health, and spirituality in an uncensored and honest way.
Favourite artists / influences?
My two favorite artists of all time are Monet and Dali. I love how Monet’s paintings expressed a vibrantly colorful and romantic view of the world. Dali was such a trailblazer for surreal art, it’s hard to find any surreal artwork today that isn’t influenced by his work in some way. I’m also really inspired by my favorite movies. The films, “MirrorMask” and Studio Ghibli’s “Castle in the Sky” had a big impact on me.
How did you discover the new blockchain world of Crypto Art and NFTs in general?
I stumbled upon SuperRare’s Instagram page one day and I was instantly fascinated. I educated myself on NFTs and observed the NFT community on social media for a little while before getting into it. Once I decided to start minting my own art, I never looked back.
Has the digital nature of cryptoart NFTs changed how you approach your art practice?
The digital nature of it hasn’t changed how I work but it has definitely changed how much I am willing to push myself outside my comfort zone for the sake of being competitive. I think the NFT market can create a lot of pressure for any artists that want to succeed. There are already so many talented and established artists within the community, and it is the kind of business where only the strong will survive long-term.
What if anything, has surprised you about this new area of art practice?
NFTs have exposed me to types of art that I had never seen or heard of before; like art that has been created by an AI, or art that can be experienced in VR. When I think about the possibilities of art and VR I think of the beautiful scenes from the movie “What Dreams May Come” where Robin Williams is exploring a landscape made up of his wife’s paintings. In a sense VR could allow us to literally step into the world of an artist’s imagination and to me that is really exciting.
How would you like the field of cryptoart and nfts to evolve over time?
I would like to see a shift towards more eco-friendly ways of producing NFTs. There are a lot of emerging platforms on proof of stake chains now that are more eco-friendly like Sign Art for example, and I’m glad to see that.
How can access and information to this new field of art practice be encouraged?
I think all the information you really need on crypto is already pretty accessible, that’s what’s so great about this movement being online. News regarding new developments in the field travels fast and anyone can get connected to the community on Twitter, Discord, Instagram, etc.
Anything you’d like to say that this form hasn’t covered?
Thank you for the opportunity to share my thoughts 🙂
