10 of the Best Emerging Australian Digital Artists
Our new curated NFT marketplace, Bluethumb Digital, is about to release its first collection this Thursday, the Genesis Drop. Genesis artworks are likely to be highly collectable and sought after as they give the owner priority access to future collector pieces in Bluethumb Digital drops and other exciting perks.
To celebrate the launch of our new exciting venture, we’re highlighting 10 of the best emerging Australian digital artists who we’re proud to give a home to on Bluethumb Digital! Strap yourself in for some mind-altering work that challenges the traditional norms of art.
1. Aileen Ng
Aileen working with a more traditional art form.
A background in maths and physics informs Aileen Ng’s observations of space and our relationship with time – which is in turn evident in her creative practice. Based in Melbourne, Aileen uses her practice to further experiment with the subjectivity of the human visual system. She explores the interpretation of three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional surface, and how this relates to depth perception, colour theory, and optical illusion. A perfect concept for NFTs.
2. Brad Robson
Our winner of the Digital Award in last year’s Bluethumb Art Prize, Brad Robson paints works of pop culture nostalgia both traditionally and digitally – before he subjects them to attack, as our Co-Founder George Hartley says. Based in Sydney, Robson’s work spans across fine art to NFTs and street art murals. From Berlin to LA, Sydney, Barcelona and New York – you’ll find his work exhibited in galleries and on walls around the world. The favourite digital art entry of our Bluethumb Art Prize judge Ken Done last year, Robson is fast making a name for himself in the digital sphere internationally with his NFTs.
3. Dave Court
Loop Gesture 13 was Dave’s finalist entry to last year’s Bluethumb Art Prize and is a part of a series.
Like several of the digital artists on Bluethumb Digital, Dave Court is steadily involved with high profile projects across his city of residence, Adelaide. His work is featured on murals, indoor spaces and in collaborations with a diverse mix of Australian companies. Dave focusses on the overlapping area of digital and physical worlds, where the distinction lies, and how this overlapping affects our engagement with our surroundings and each other.
Dave Court attending to one of the pieces from his Loop Gesture series.
A painter, art director and designer, Dave was a finalist in last year’s Bluethumb Art Prize with his entry, Loop Gesture 13 in Situ. We’re super excited to see his work on Bluethumb Digital.
4. Lucy Lucy
Lucy Lucy close to completing one of her murals.
Hailing from Paris, France, Lucy Lucy immigrated to Australia in 2006 and has since sculpted a niche in the Australian urban art scene. Now calling Melbourne home, Lucy’s figurative paintings capture the evolving folklore of the feminine. Her portraits of women aim to depict the energy of these archetypes and employ the essence of social change, resilience and reconciliation. Aside from her work as a digital artist, Lucy has collaborated with various organisations and bodies, such as Nike, Marriott and New Balance.
These two pieces will be available in the upcoming Genesis Drop!
5. Mark Bo Chu
Digital artist Mark Bo Chu’s creative pursuits venture into fiction writing, scientific research, and music – all to high acclaim.
Mark Chu is a multi-disciplinary artist whose paintings focus on human subjects using colour, form, and texture to enhance psychological complexity. Chu has enjoyed sittings with luminaries such as French music producer Laurent Garnier and Melbourne graffiti pioneer Tom Gerrard. His work has been commented on by Former Chairman of the National Gallery of Australia, Rupert Myer AO, as “[reflecting] aspects of the human condition.” More recently, Mark Chu was a recipient of the 2021 inaugural MH Carnegie Fine Art NFT Fellowship. He has exhibited work in Melbourne, New York City and Shanghai.
6. Mysterious Al
London-born, Melbourne-based urban artist Mysterious Al .
Melbourne locals, you may have spotted the work of UK-born Mysterious Al dotted around the city where he now resides. From murals to the deck chairs in Federation Square, Mysterious Al is recognised for his colourful characters and abstracted street pieces. Al first began his artistic career by selling flash animations; he’s now come back to his animation roots with his first curated collection of NFTs.
Al’s NFTs available on Bluethumb Digital start as paper collages before being digitally animated, where his quirky subjects come to life. These subjects are influenced by ancient tribal masks, and are portrayed in a contemporary setting with wild and bold colour use. Al hopes viewers see past the initially humorous look of his work to discover the deeper and often melancholic undertone lying beneath.
7. Marble Mannequin
A depiction of the character behind the mysterious moniker, Marble Mannequin.
An Argentinian-Australian CGI artist with a musical background, Marble Mannequin, or Damián Gaume, bases his art on his own vivid dream states; an environment made of surrealism meets sci-fi simulations of altered physics. His collaborations as an artist include Zara, Universal Music and Burberry, and with an immense following of 4.2 million on TikTok, Damián has had several of his creations go viral and doesn’t show signs of stopping anytime soon. See one of his captivating videos below!
8. Pat Younis
Pat Younis With be included in the first Bluethumb Digital drop with other digital artists.
Sydney-based Media artist Pat Younis focuses his work on the limits of virtual space, and pursues its ability to offer insightful and immersive experiences through various forms of technology. He aims to emphasise the way new media experiences, from virtual landscape stills to VR or projection-based interactive art, can foster our relationship with technology without impinging on the connection we have to our physical world. In an attempt to encase the feeling of presence in immeasurable landscapes of nature, Pat considers the natural environment and the unrolling effect of scale.
Amidst Fractals #1 by Pat Younis
9. Simon Cardwell
Photographer Simon Cardwell will be selling NFTs of his work later this month.
Simon Cardwell is Visual Artist working in the medium of photography and is currently residing in Sydney. Using dramatic images of flowers in landscapes, Simon portrays human perceptions of their own emotions and their sense of self and identity in conditions of freedom and isolation – a fitting theme for these times.
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Simon’s work starts within the traditions of photography before moving to a more manipulated and painterly concept of placement, colour and design. His surrealist methodology of manipulation then takes to scenes of botany, creating “serene meditations via which we ponder and experience essential stillness, the quietude of primary existence, of simple or simply being, within the solace of the self.” His work has been a finalist in various awards, including the Moran Prize.
10. Tammy Kanat
Tammy with one of her stunning fibre weavings.
After 12 years as a jewellery designer, Tammy Kanat diverted her artistic talents to textiles. Since beginning her weaving journey in 2011, Tammy has gained international acclaim through social media for her vibrant uplifting work, whilst continuously producing commissions for local and international clients. She has joined our collection of digital artists by transforming the timeless art of weaving into NFTs, in which she creates a meditative experience for the viewer.
The Genesis Drop lands 24 February at 7pm (AEDT) – preview the NFTs on offer by all 25 digital artists here.
