The Land of OG | Frenetik Void

The work of Frenetik Void is hard to define yet highly recognizable. A favorite of crypto art collectors since 2019, his “Voids” portraits combine the grotesque with retrofuturist fantasy, provoking both revulsion and fascination in the process. Crypto art has often received the same response for its challenge to contemporary art canon. One of the principal characteristics of the movement is its translocal community and a sense of belonging that derives from on-chain geography rather than physical proximity. On that basis, it has sought to replace the concentration of art in Global Northern hubs with supportive infrastructure for digital artists everywhere.

The arrival of Bright Moments in Buenos Aires — where Frenetik is based — is a chance to celebrate the local scene as well as crypto art’s Latin American roots. In the following conversation, the artist explains what makes the Argentinian capital a model of radical inclusivity to Fanny Lakoubay.

‍Fanny Lakoubay: How would you describe your personal style, and can you share some of the artists and genres that have influenced your work?

‍Frenetik Void: While my work embodies many aspects of Surrealism, that term also doesn’t quite fit my style. My work is entirely digitally native and I like to play around with different tools, transforming the results, and blending styles together. But I also trust where I am going, perhaps too much, which is why my style is recognizable. I get bored of repeating myself because I always have something different to say. I try to be sincere with my feelings, which evolve together with my work.

I’m not too conscious of the artists who influence my work. However, I do admire many, including Canadian artist Baron Lanteigne, who explores the relationship between physical material and virtual realities. I also enjoy the futuristic pastorals of Kim Laughton, a British 3D artist based in China, as well as Tea Strazicic, who creates 2D drawings and 3D sculptures under the pseudonym, FluffLord. Their work is both physical and digital in a fun, expressionist way, while the crypto artist, Olga Mikh Fedorova, mixes genres like no one else, incorporating photography, Surrealism, and painting. Kévin Bray is a French artist and filmmaker who is always innovating with the tools he uses and the dimensions of his practice, which includes sculpture, projection, painting, and 3D models. Finally, I have to mention game designer Davey Wreden, the creator of story-based games like The Stanley Parable. 

‍FL: Over the past few years, you’ve developed a PFP-based game called Game Disease (2021). How does this project fit within your artistic practice?

FV: My creativity needs to keep expanding constantly, so I always need more projects and worlds to create so that I don’t go crazy. 

‍Game Disease started as an experiment — I wanted to build something with a team. Before that, I had always worked alone. I had this complex and ambitious idea I couldn’t realize, so I shared the concept with Milton Sanz and 0xeegeno. We’re building an entirely new universe with the power to become a franchise. The game has all it needs for that to happen — original and striking visuals, a strong narrative rooted in both sci-fi and real-life threats, and a strong tech [stack] with NFTs, staking, and more to come. We’ve had fun exploring the dark side of human behavior in the crypto space and expressing it with our own satirical humor and style.

‍FL: You have been selling your art via NFTs since 2019. Then, in April of this year, you had your first gallery solo show, “SERENO DE MI MENTE,” at CHELA, here in Buenos Aires. How do you navigate the crypto art market versus the traditional art market?

‍FV: I always look for ways to grow. Right now, it feels right to focus on the physical aspects of my work, as I’ve spent too many years behind the computer creating and playing around. Now, I want to balance that with greater physicality. When I needed to find a way to make a living from my work, then I worked specifically for that goal, and I am glad I found it. Now, I want to experiment with other media, but this direction has to be consistent with my practice. 

I’m currently looking to create a nexus between digital art and the traditional art market, which might extend to other large art hubs. However, here in Buenos Aires, it is still something that is largely unestablished. I see many opportunities for me and other artists. 

I just sold my first single edition in both physical and digital form at a major contemporary art fair here in Buenos Aires. I love that I am now expanding my collector base into my own country. 

‍FL: You also just had a gallery show in Buenos Aires with Julian Brangold, which focused entirely on crazy memes. What can you tell us about this?

‍FV: “PsiPsiKoko” is pure fun and a space where I feel free to transform the volume of shit that I consume on social media into something else via AI tools. This process of transfiguration makes online life more tolerable and allows me to laugh about depressing things. I don’t want to leave the waste there, so it’s like recycling. 

On this basis, we created a whole ecosystem of characters with their own language and codes, all based on the nonsense and absurdity of internet content. 

But we gave it a new meaning via AI, digital transformation, and artistic manipulation. Julian and I are having a total blast. 

‍FL: During the COVID lockdown of 2020, you co-founded the crypto artist collective, CryptoArg, here in Buenos Aires. How has that initiative helped to shape the crypto art ecosystem in Argentina?

‍FV: Community is key and we’ve been helping one another and sharing resources. It continues to evolve beautifully, but I don’t want to get too cheesy about it. What we have created is powerful and important, but I’d rather leave it to others to analyze the impact. All I can say is that the project has left me with a strong, deep sense of happiness, comfort, and relief.

‍FL: Argentina is in the midst of a major financial and political crisis right now, which will come to a head with the upcoming presidential elections. Do these difficulties create fertile ground for crypto to thrive in Argentina? 

‍FV: Yes, the crypto narrative makes increasing sense to me, but other crypto-economic maniacs can preach this much more effectively than I can. Change is inevitable and I trust (and perhaps hope) that humans will tend to use the best tools in the end. 

‍FL: Finally, what are some of the projects that you are currently excited about in Buenos Aires?

‍FV: Aura Virtual Gallery is innovating in many ways to bridge digital art and the traditional market. The gallery represents me here alongside other artists I admire, including 3D artist and sculptor Trinidad Metz Brea. But I’ve also encountered a number of emerging analog artists here in Argentina. For me, it’s important to get to know them, share their stories, and collect their work myself. The artists I love include El Pelele, Josefina Alen, Mauro Koliva, Santiago Licata, Nicolas Sáid, El Falsificador, and many others. 

I love growing alongside my CryptoArg colleagues, who all wish to create transmedia art beyond NFTs, since the crypto market is rather limited and certainly not encouraging right now. Faktor is doing some amazing physical sculpture at the moment, while The Internet Office is creating great design pieces, Lionel Milton’s jewelry is stunning, and mardeformas is experimenting with 3D printed works.

Everyone is creating new stuff right now and it’s very exciting. But I would stop caring so much about “crypto art” and just call us artists!