Artists come along every now and again with art that uses culture in a way that is so captivating that people are moved to tears. The art world has seen it many times – consider the notoriety of Banksy, or Andy Warhol. Banksy’s stencil graffiti often depicted the lives of working people and their relationship with consumerism. It’s hard to find a more relatable story than this in modern times. In the early 60’s, Andy Warhol famously produced 32 canvases, each home to a screen-printed painting of a variety of Campbell’s canned soup which the brand was offering at the time. The rise in NFTs has made Warhol seem a pioneer. The idea of 32 images of soup cans with varying characteristics being minted onto the blockchain as an Opensea Collection doesn’t sound so far from what Warhol actually created back in the 1960s.
The ability of artists to see how the viewer reacts to art through everyday pictures is a key component of modern art, particularly for NFTs. Gal Yosef was one of these artists. In 2020, he uploaded a 3D rendering of Donald Duck’s beloved cartoon character to his Instagram.
The young artist has had a remarkable career. He was the youngest ever artist to be signed with Eden Gallery. This international gallery represents a variety of artists around the globe. The early works spoke to a generation that loved nostalgic characters from childhood, but also reflected a deep love for luxury and money in Millennial pop culture.
Collectors from all over the world began buying Gal’s physical artworks, eventually going on to create a 1/1 NFT collaboration with DJ Steve Aoki that was auctioned at Sotheby’s, selling for $214,000. Yosef went on to establish his Meta Eagle Club collection. This was estimated at $13.5 million. With the community in turmoil requesting more of Yosef’s artwork and secondary market prices trading at $10,000,000 on opensea,
Motivations Deep
Digital art and 3D sculpting are vast subjects to master – but Gal’s childhood lends itself as a testimony that he had the passion required to acquire his incredible artistic skills.
“I would build a fantasy world from toys and action figures. I never liked Minimalism. Big worlds with lots of characters and life were what I preferred. Toy Story was my favorite movie. I watched it almost every day. You could say that I became a 3D artist because of Toy Story.” – Gal Yosef
Gal Yosef fell in love with Pixar and Disney from an early age. He began to learn digital design and animation at age 12. He was largely self-taught and learned Maya 3D Design through tutorials from YouTube. Yosef is one of the many 3D artists. Both You can sculpt and paint entirely digitally. This new type of art has been primarily used in films and games, but it’s fascinating to see Yosef not use these skills.
“I’m not working on deadlines for my artworks, I don’t have any limits and even if it will take years for each artwork, I’ll finish it only when I’ll feel that it’s perfect and my idea is clear.”- Gal Yosef, Interview with Vogue
An Artful Transition into the Metaverse
Gal was an intelligent child, who created imaginary worlds with pieces of rocks and plants that he found around his house. Then he became a huge success in the world of art through Eden Gallery. Today, he is making a new transition – from art galleries to the metaverse. Yosef can now create work that is not based on childhood characters with Web3 by providing him the infrastructure to construct. His own world. “Meta Eagle Club” is his first installment of a series of his own unique collections – making up a digital art world called Galyverse.
“I was searching for a character that could help portray a charismatic avatar, but also one that’s warm and inspiring to others. Eagles, which are symbols of freedom across many cultures, also symbolize the brave and strong-hearted. Working on the wings and feathers allowed me to soar and explore new heights in 3D art.” – Gal Yosef, Galyverse
This is Yosef’s first NFT project, in which he serves as both the artist and the curator. And founder of the project, alongside RNSNC (“Renaissance”) – an NFT studio with the goal of connecting art, tech and luxury.
A Plan To Bring Future Value
A famous quote often misattributed to Andy Warhol is, “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” Ironically, critics of NFTs often knock the new decentralized economy as being short-lived, as the quote could now suggest. However, the inherent value of Gal Yosef’s metaverse project does not stop with its artistic quality, but it also extends into its community. Meta Eagle Club looks ahead to how it will bring value in the future in its unique roadmap, or as it’s named within the project, “Flight Path”. Galyverse is a unique collection that offers many flight experiences for collectors. These include hot-air balloon and jet flights as well as invitations to parties around the US and the world. There are also opportunities to purchase Gal Yosef art. This project is also donating $100,000 towards the protection of eagles.
Galyverse.io has more information about Gal Yosef and Meta Eagle Club. Opensea has the complete collection of meta-eagles.