Lisbon 25: Metageist
NonFunGerbils In Lisbon 2025 with Metageist
Keeping the Flame Burning: Metageist on Curating the OG Spirit in Crypto Art
In a dynamic conversation from the Buildtree booth at the NFC Summit, artist and curator Metageist discussed his recent heroic feat: co-curating the massive visual show for the Cult of Crypto Art exhibit. Fresh off a successful main stage presentation, Metageist shared his passion for ensuring the original builders of the space remain front and center.
Metageist, along with four other artists including Ogar, stitched together a 15-minute immersive experience that featured artwork from well over 100 artists. Metageist's personal contribution was a challenging, sculpted digital life form—a cyclops creature with tentacles—created using a VR headset and Gravity Sketch. While he admitted his computer almost died and the result wasn't exactly what he'd planned, he was immensely proud of getting the art, including nostalgic pieces from Alotta Money and Spherical Art dating back to 2020, displayed prominently.
The OG Connection and the Artist-Collector Link
Metageist stressed the importance of these kinds of curated shows for "keeping that flame burning" for the earliest adopters and OGs of the crypto art space. He noted that the room was packed, and the reception was strong, even among attendees who might not know the history behind every name displayed.
He articulated a core belief about the ecosystem: he dislikes the strong differentiation between "collector" and "artist." For Metageist, every artist is also a collector, and he sees himself as both, maintaining a collection larger than his own art output. He views his own work, whether through this massive immersive show or previous projects like physical sculptures with augmented reality, as a way of elevating other artists through unusual and innovative curation.
The Future is 3D and Headsets
The conversation pivoted to the future of display, an area Metageist is highly focused on as a creator of 3D sculptures (GLB artworks). He acknowledges that selling 3D art is difficult now because collectors lack adequate display solutions. However, he is bullish on the imminent revolution led by devices like the Apple Vision Pro and other headsets.
Metageist predicts that laptops and mobile phones will slowly be replaced by glasses and headsets for some people, allowing 3D sculptures to appear persistently in their physical spaces (like an office or garden). The technology, utilizing dynamic HDRI to reflect real-world light onto the digital object, makes the art look native to the environment. He believes the widespread adoption of these headsets is the missing piece that will validate 3D art, connecting all the pieces of the Web3 experience.
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