The Alpha:<\/h2>\n\n- Web3 mixed-media photographer Justin Aversano will debut the latest iteration of his well-known Smoke and Mirrors collection at Gabba Gallery in Los Angeles on March 25.<\/li>\n
- The exhibition will consist of 78 limited-edition silkscreen-on-papyrus prints of portraits attached to NFTs. Viewers can see the prints, which depict \u201chealers, spiritualists, creatives, and family,\u201d until April 8.<\/li>\n
- Aversano tells nft now that he has a particularly intimate connection to the pieces in this exhibit. \u201cAll of these artworks, all these art projects really come from a place in myself of death,\u201d he explains. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\nDiver deeper<\/h2>\n
Justin Aversano is a household name in Web3. One of several individuals to help put NFT photography on the map, the artist has released some of the most successful and thought-provoking projects the space has seen in recent memory. <\/p>\n
Twin Flames, a collection of photographs showcasing 100 pairs of twins<\/a> that helped establish Aversano as one of the top-selling photographers in Web3, was partly a tribute to the artist\u2019s late fraternal twin. The collection remains one of the most sought-after projects in the community and has done 5,900 ETH (just under $10 million) in trading volume on the secondary market.\u00a0<\/p>\nAversano\u2019s work often deals with themes of death, pain, and the intangible relationships and connections that exist beyond the limits of ordinary human perception. Smoke and Mirrors, the photographer\u2019s February 2022 collection<\/a>, embraces this idea perhaps more directly than any other of his works. <\/p>\nThe collection consists of 78 portraits of \u201cartists, astrologers, psychics, tarot readers, and other forms of mystics\u201d from around the globe, each representing a unique tarot card. Now, Aversano is taking Smoke and Mirrors into new territory by debuting photographs from the collection at the Gabba Gallery<\/a> in Los Angeles on March 25, reimagined through the medium of silkscreen on papyrus prints.\u00a0<\/p>\nFrom ancient Egypt to the blockchain<\/h2>\n
While speaking to nft now about the collection, Aversano drew comparisons between the NFT tech of today and the hieroglyphs of ancient Egypt, pointing to the permanent and expressive nature both share.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s a digital archeology of hieroglyphs that we\u2019re creating in real-time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Justin Aversano<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n\u201cI work in different printing media processes,\u201d Aversano explained. \u201cIn each project that I do with a thematic subject matter, there\u2019s a specific printing method that goes along with that theme. So, for example, the tarot project [is] printed on papyrus and connects to our ancestors.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re working with the silkscreen to make the photograph a painting. Then there\u2019s another layer \u2014 minting these things on the blockchain. To me, that\u2019s a way of connecting the future to the past. It\u2019s a digital archeology of hieroglyphs that we\u2019re creating in real-time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Smoke and Mirrors features some well-known cultural figures, including artist and activist Nadya Tolokonnikova<\/a> of Pussy Riot, author Neil Gaiman, and NFT collector and Web3 builder Gmoney<\/a>. \u00a0<\/p>\nNadya Tolokonnikova. Credit: Justin Aversano<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nConfronting death<\/h2>\n
Of the 78 images in the collection, 22 are classified as \u201cmajor arcana,\u201d with the remaining 56 being \u201cminor arcana,\u201d with the major arcana being the first 22 cards in most tarot decks. And while an abstract philosophical motif guides the collection, Aversano has also imbued the collection with a distinct intimacy: the photograph that represents the death tarot card is a portrait of Aversano\u2019s father standing next to the grave of the artist\u2019s late mother, who died from cancer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/nftnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Screen-Shot-2023-03-13-at-11.35.52-PM.png\")
Credit: Justin Aversano<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/nftnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Death.jpeg\")
Credit: Justin Aversano<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\u201cAll of these artworks, all these art projects really come from a place in myself of death,\u201d Aversano said of the conceptual nature that drives his work. \u201cHow to connect with life. My father is the photograph of the death card, and he\u2019s standing beside my mother\u2019s grave with an empty space where his name is [going to be]. \u201cHow do you accept death and acknowledge it?\u201d<\/p>\n
While working on Twin Flames in 2021, Aversano teamed up with Jason Ostro, artist, and director of Gabba Gallery. The two have been working together ever since to print the collection in such a way that aligns with Aversano\u2019s vision.\u00a0Though the NFTs of the photographs that will be on display at the gallery have already sold out on the primary market, collectors can find them on secondary<\/a>, starting at a floor price of 10 ETH.<\/p>\nThe IRL exhibition represents yet another stage in Aversano\u2019s ever-evolving and restless artistic trajectory. As the NFT photography space<\/a> continues to grow and diversify, the photographer remains a pillar of that medium\u2019s Web3 community, continually experimenting with the opportunities that the blockchain presents him.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n
Diver deeper<\/h2>\n
Justin Aversano is a household name in Web3. One of several individuals to help put NFT photography on the map, the artist has released some of the most successful and thought-provoking projects the space has seen in recent memory. <\/p>\n
Twin Flames, a collection of photographs showcasing 100 pairs of twins<\/a> that helped establish Aversano as one of the top-selling photographers in Web3, was partly a tribute to the artist\u2019s late fraternal twin. The collection remains one of the most sought-after projects in the community and has done 5,900 ETH (just under $10 million) in trading volume on the secondary market.\u00a0<\/p>\n Aversano\u2019s work often deals with themes of death, pain, and the intangible relationships and connections that exist beyond the limits of ordinary human perception. Smoke and Mirrors, the photographer\u2019s February 2022 collection<\/a>, embraces this idea perhaps more directly than any other of his works. <\/p>\n The collection consists of 78 portraits of \u201cartists, astrologers, psychics, tarot readers, and other forms of mystics\u201d from around the globe, each representing a unique tarot card. Now, Aversano is taking Smoke and Mirrors into new territory by debuting photographs from the collection at the Gabba Gallery<\/a> in Los Angeles on March 25, reimagined through the medium of silkscreen on papyrus prints.\u00a0<\/p>\n While speaking to nft now about the collection, Aversano drew comparisons between the NFT tech of today and the hieroglyphs of ancient Egypt, pointing to the permanent and expressive nature both share.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a digital archeology of hieroglyphs that we\u2019re creating in real-time.\u201d<\/p>\n Justin Aversano<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n \u201cI work in different printing media processes,\u201d Aversano explained. \u201cIn each project that I do with a thematic subject matter, there\u2019s a specific printing method that goes along with that theme. So, for example, the tarot project [is] printed on papyrus and connects to our ancestors.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re working with the silkscreen to make the photograph a painting. Then there\u2019s another layer \u2014 minting these things on the blockchain. To me, that\u2019s a way of connecting the future to the past. It\u2019s a digital archeology of hieroglyphs that we\u2019re creating in real-time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Smoke and Mirrors features some well-known cultural figures, including artist and activist Nadya Tolokonnikova<\/a> of Pussy Riot, author Neil Gaiman, and NFT collector and Web3 builder Gmoney<\/a>. \u00a0<\/p>\n Of the 78 images in the collection, 22 are classified as \u201cmajor arcana,\u201d with the remaining 56 being \u201cminor arcana,\u201d with the major arcana being the first 22 cards in most tarot decks. And while an abstract philosophical motif guides the collection, Aversano has also imbued the collection with a distinct intimacy: the photograph that represents the death tarot card is a portrait of Aversano\u2019s father standing next to the grave of the artist\u2019s late mother, who died from cancer.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAll of these artworks, all these art projects really come from a place in myself of death,\u201d Aversano said of the conceptual nature that drives his work. \u201cHow to connect with life. My father is the photograph of the death card, and he\u2019s standing beside my mother\u2019s grave with an empty space where his name is [going to be]. \u201cHow do you accept death and acknowledge it?\u201d<\/p>\n While working on Twin Flames in 2021, Aversano teamed up with Jason Ostro, artist, and director of Gabba Gallery. The two have been working together ever since to print the collection in such a way that aligns with Aversano\u2019s vision.\u00a0Though the NFTs of the photographs that will be on display at the gallery have already sold out on the primary market, collectors can find them on secondary<\/a>, starting at a floor price of 10 ETH.<\/p>\n The IRL exhibition represents yet another stage in Aversano\u2019s ever-evolving and restless artistic trajectory. As the NFT photography space<\/a> continues to grow and diversify, the photographer remains a pillar of that medium\u2019s Web3 community, continually experimenting with the opportunities that the blockchain presents him.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nFrom ancient Egypt to the blockchain<\/h2>\n
\n
Confronting death<\/h2>\n