From the underground graffiti scene where he made his name, to sending his art into space and now his solo exhibition at Sotheby's, Ryan Wilson (ThanksYouX) continues to rise.
ThanksYouX's unique style blurs the line between digital and physical art. Since making the jump to NFTs three years ago, he's struck a chord with art collectors, perfect for viewing on digital screens.
His signature cubes and hybrid physical and digital paintings will be featured in a solo exhibition at Sotheby's in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles.
“In hindsight, it's an overview of everything I've been working on for the past few years. There's digital, there's physical, there's pictures with screens embedded in them. For the past few years, I've been digitizing motion pictures and messy videos, and I wanted people who collect my pictures to experience the same movement on screen,” says ThankYouX.
“The doubling of what's happening with digital in the last few years is another kind of Trojan horse for me. I wanted to tie it all together. The show is about movement. You'll see different brush strokes going in different ways, with different colors and each representing something different.
“Whether it's the ocean or the wind, the clouds, the plane going a certain way, cars driving another way or people walking certain ways, there are all these different hidden things in each painting, but I wanted you to feel that it's the painting itself. Moving through time.”
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ToggleGraffiti Night Owl marks the debut of ThanksYouX.
ThanksYouX's career began in 2009 as an underground artist who worked on poetry at all hours of the night and left out the words “Thanks” and “X” to create a sense of freedom and happiness. This stuck as the artist's name after many art blogs started calling him ThankYouX.
It was such anarchy and freedom for me to go out at midnight after working eight hours a day. I leave my house at 1:00 am and don't come home until 3 or 4 am and then I go back to work the next day at 9:00 am and do it all.
“It was such an obsession and I was so excited to do it. I'd say it was definitely more about the process than the end result because things along the way know that this is only going to last for one day, so get up as fast as you can and don't worry too much about the little details in it.”
“It was very freeing for me and I didn't have that feeling again until I got into this draft phase where I feel like the little details don't matter in the little things. Now it's more about the feeling.”
Making the move to NFTs
In the year In 2017, ThankYouX remembers a friend calling him about the future of cryptocurrencies, but he didn't go very far down the rabbit hole at the time.
Fast forward to 2020 and his collector, asked if he has seen what is happening with NFTs, is interested in AR/VR and emerging technology.
“He didn't have it and he sent me some links, and I listened to some podcasts and read some articles. I thought back to CryptoKitties but now I could see artists and there was an art community there.
As a big fan of pushing the boundaries in art, ThankYouX thrives in this new era of work where it can get the best of both worlds, physical and digital. Not everyone feels the same way.
“Sometimes I feel like I'm a lobbyist for both sides. I know the physical work, I have to speak that language and then I go to the other side and these people are real artists here, you're lost.
“But I'm proud of it. I say I'm such a small cause and there are a lot of people doing bigger things than me to bridge that gap. I say, like traditional art institutions need to pay attention and help me build that bridge.”
“For example, years ago Sotheby's didn't know who I was, but now they do, so now that I have the opportunity to do a physical show, I want to increase my trust in blockchain. Even my physical pieces come with these digital certificates of authenticity.
Our concept for the Great Bridge had a few meanings… the obvious bridge itself and also the bridge of photography and painting. But perhaps the most important thing was art and technology. This was still early days and I had no idea how important this drop would be. 2020!
— ThankYouX (@ThankYouX) July 11, 2023
Sending art into space on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket
As a fan of space exploration, it was time for the ThankYouX ‘Urge for Protection' launch on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket in May earlier this year.
The 14″ x 14″ painting, pictured below, was floated in the rocket and was auctioned off at Sotheby's upon its return to Earth.
I had initial discussions with SpaceX in 2016-17, but earlier this year I was walking around with my agent and someone with her. We were talking about our love for space. This guy was deeply involved with Axiom Space,” says ThankYouX.
“I was able to send a piece into space through the Axiom 2 mission, which was the first Saudi Arabian woman in space, which was cool. I went to Florida to watch it go into space, which was an unforgettable experience.
“We actually auctioned it at Sotheby's in New York when it came back. It's a small painting, 14 by 14 inches, but it went into space and was a great experience.
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Quick fire question and answer
Personal style
“It's interesting with style because you want to have this thread between all your artworks, but you don't want to repeat yourself.
“If I explain, I make very simple, abstract art like paintings, and then when it's NFT or digital works, I like to think of it as this sort of conceptual pick deck that I send to museums to try and find. show with them”
Effects
“Frank Stella is my favorite artist and I think he was someone I looked up to.”
“My geometric designs were inspired by my love for Frank Stella's work. I didn't want my phone to look like Frank's work because at first I was just messing around seeing if I could recreate things like him.”
“After I got to my place, I felt really good, so I shouted to Frank, not only in art, but in how he helped me grow over time.”
“In the digital space, I'd say the people who are maybe not so much influencers but inspirations are Victor Mesgira and Grant Yun. They're both great.
Famous collector
“Genesis Aka Danny. He collected the pieces from the Contemporary Day sale in London and I couldn't imagine a better person to go there. That was the first time we really met during that auction.
“I feel like I'm forever connected to him because it was such a special moment for both of us, and then we became good friends. I am thankful for having so many collectors that it would be hard to name a collection without excluding a few.
Which Hot NFT Artist Should We Pay Attention To?
“I say Yatreda and Seneca. I think they both have very inspiring stories behind their work.
“I look at art all day long like we all do, but seeing Yatreda's first drop on the Nifty Gateway stopped me. I was like, ‘This is so different,' and what I love about the NFT space is when I see something that doesn't look like it here.”
“With Seneca, I knew her from her early involvement in creating the original character for Bored Monkeys, but when we met she showed me other things she was doing and said, ‘Wait, is that you?'
“I don't think about it very often, but when I saw what she wanted to do, I thought she was going to explode in the traditional art world. She has this way of coming through the NFTs but she's going to be one of those people who gets through them all. Much respect to her and how she creates, why she creates and why she creates.
Favorite NFT in your wallet
“My CryptoPunk #4974. I bought this punk after another Sotheby's auction in London in 2022. I was getting good bids, they were getting early bids and I felt bold and you know what, I want this punk and it's at a good price. So I'm going to buy it. I used some of the money from that auction for Punk.
What advice would you give to physical artists who want to dip their toe into the world of NFTs?
“Do it for the right reasons and everything doesn't have to be NFT. I think trying to understand the use cases for blockchain can make sense and once you get it you realize that those four gallery walls just fall flat and there's a plane of infinite possibilities out there.” It might have been a few years ago.”
When you create art, you listen to music.
“all the time. Whenever I paint and create, I listen to music. It's random, but as a certain random because the tastes, the genres have jumped so far. From the 90s to the early 2000s, it could be punk and hardcore music. It's very chaotic and loud, and all that stuff.
“Also the film scores. That's where I fell in love with Hans. [Zimmer] With my work because I worked with Hans. Hans makes music and the music is my painting. I also listen to some weird electronic stuff.
Links:
X: twitter.com/ThankYouX
Sotheby's Inertia Exhibition: sothebys.com/en/digital-catalogues/thankyoux-1
Website: thankyoux.com/
Greg Oxford
Greg Oakford is co-founder of NFT Fest Australia. A former marketing and communications professional in the world of sports, Greg now focuses on content creation and consulting at Web3. He is an avid NFT collector and hosts a weekly podcast covering all things NFTs.
Follow the author @GregOakford
