FEBRUARY 14TH, 2022

5 Artists From the UNDRGRND Collection 

UNDRGRND DIGS is a periodical feature showcasing artists that the UNDRGRND curators dig. We sift through the social media and NFT platforms to find the best artists waiting to be discovered. UNDRGRND believes in the artists we feature and we will purchase NFTs from each artist featured. Purchases will be airdropped to reward UNDRGRND community members.

View the Tezos UNDRGRND Collection

RETICULIAN’s works will please every science fiction art fan out there, but his unique style will resonate with almost everyone. Using the same colors most of the time, he creates worlds, spaceships and humanoid robots with incredible details. It could have been too much, but no, the art feels like it’s dancing juxtaposed to the emptiness of space. The theme of solitude and melancholia is at the forefront of his work. You can imagine only a handful of humans left, roaming space in giant automated spaceships dreaming of an Earth that is no more. Clearly, the future was not kind to the human race in the RETICULIAN universe, and you can’t help but wonder where we will be in a thousand years.

When we see a male subject as the focal point of an NFT series, it’s often in a powerful position. Rarely do we get the chance to witness a more intimate and vulnerable side of the male character. Grdill does it brilliantly with just the right touch of intimacy and sentiments. Society can still view a man showing emotions as taboo, but what Grdill does helps normalize it by using a distinct style. Grdill uses animation with the right balance to emphasize and convey the message. In Sadness and Wildflowers, the tears are at the forefront of the pieces, clearly not hidden, and we can feel depression and loneliness in Darkness. But you can also find simple everyday moments, brought perfectly to life with a calming quality to them, like in Metro and New Year. The work brings you in and makes sure you feel something.

Lewis Osborne is a Bristol-based designer & illustrator who does motion art NFTs. His style is easily distinguishable by the beautiful colors and the recurring smiley and sad-faced characters. A graceful symmetry appears in all of his work; there is not a single line out of place. Great motion art can have a hypnotic feel, and Osborne's work is right there with the best of them. While primarily fun, you start to find little glimpses of critiques if you pay close attention. Automation and Mental Recharge spotlight our sometimes unhealthy relationship with modern technology. Often the playfulness is just a façade like the smiley face.

Masha Shango is a street artist working out of Kiev. Primarily working in 2D, her style mixes manga and American comics, creating strong, sexy and beautiful female characters, but they are not perfect; they have flaws and doubts like the rest of us. They call you and you want to learn more about them. Some of them bring you into Masha's personal feelings and you can't help but connect and recognize that you share some of the same emotions. In the Ghost of Kiev series, her work enters photographs of Kiev and the effect is striking; you wonder where the line is between reality and fiction. What are the Ghosts trying to tell us? In the end, no matter the obstacle, you want this story to end well.

UNDRGRND community members nominate their favorite undiscovered artists to be featured in weekly DIGS. UNDRGRND empowers its community to dig for bold, innovative, undervalued NFT artists.

About 25 years ago, I met this good guy. Even then, I was impressed with his drawing ability. Twenty-five years later, in the NFT world, he calls himself Lostsheep. It's very suitable for him as he's mischievous and rebels against the status quo, all playing a role in his artistic and inspirational soul. He has poured his experiences into his craft. Unique, funny, rude, and a little vulgar but incredible! Just enjoy his perspective! - Ricky Rusly

Each UNDRGRND DIGS will feature artists our curators have purchased for the UNDRGRND Collection.