Introducing Gavin Shapiro: The Digital Artist whose Goal is to Make You Smile
Based in New York, Gavin Shapiro is a digital artist who creates playful conceptual artworks. His work explores how we can use digital tools to confront our expectations of what’s possible in a traditionally physical art world. Gavin has worked on various projects worldwide, including TV shows, commercials, outdoor displays, large-format stage visuals, and animations for casino games. His personal work, released under the name "shapiro500," has been featured at music festivals and concerts globally and exhibited on digital billboards in New York City, Paris, and Tokyo.
Gavin's NFT Journey: Exploring the Whimsical World of Animations
Gavin's NFT journey began in early 2020 when he was invited by the NFT marketplace Nifty Gateway to be part of the first group of digital artists to join their platform. At the time, Gavin had never heard of the term "NFT," but he was intrigued by the opportunity to explore this new frontier. His curiosity piqued, Gavin wasted no time in creating his first NFT artwork and dropping it on Nifty Gateway.
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Shortly after the first drop, Gavin joined SuperRare, an NFT platform known for its curated selection of high-quality digital artworks, and started posting more of his digital art. “I only had Instagram at the time, and they suggested I start a Twitter account,” Gavin recalls of his early NFT journey. In the three years since, Gavin has continued to create, and has gradually gathered a wide audience and established his reputation as an NFT artist.
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Today, Gavin has garnered over 23k followers on Twitter, including many serious collectors in the web3 and NFT communities. He is known for his looping animations, with penguins and flamingos being recurring motifs, dancing to lively soundtracks.
During his conversation with ONBD, Gavin described his unique art style as a combination of cute and silly elements with hyper-serious and complex ones. His dancing penguins and flamingos exist within highly mathematical landscapes or serious conceptual art installations.
Check out the full conversation here:
Empowering the Next Generation of Digital Artists through the Decentralized Spirit of Web3
As a pioneering artist in the crypto art and NFT space, Gavin's creations are deeply rooted in the open and decentralized spirit of web3. In 2020, Gavin began publishing a series of tutorial videos on YouTube, where he shares his knowledge and expertise in digital art creation. He demonstrates in detail how to use various tools such as Cinema4D to create captivating artworks. In these videos, he uses his own creations as examples, breaking down the basic concepts and techniques used to achieve the final creative effect. In addition, he also shares some public project resources, encouraging others to use his creations to explore new creative possibilities in their own art.
Follow Gavin on Youtube , Twitter , and Instagram