The NFT Curator | Cabline

Ombeline Rosset, known to the Web3 community as Cabline, is a curator for objkt.com and a fixture of the Tezos community. Objkt is the largest digital art and collectible marketplace on the Tezos blockchain with a mission to empower creators, collectors, and builders. I’ve long been impressed by Rosset’s keen eye for uncovering hidden talents, and I was curious to learn more about her background and approach. Recently, we sat down to discuss her path as well as the goals and future of objkt.com. Here, she celebrates artists who deserve greater recognition and offers advice to creators and collectors alike.

‍Danielle King: Could you tell us a bit about your background and how you got into Web3?

‍Cabline: I didn’t receive a formal education in art but was taught at home by my grandfather, Max Crochat, an art expert in France who specialized in the eighteenth century. Although I studied law, I’ve always kept art as a hobby, including collecting paintings and Japanese woodblock prints. 

After being sworn in as a lawyer in Luxembourg, I started working at a law firm in the department of banking and finance. While that work didn’t have anything to do with art, I was working with really impressive people and the work itself was interesting. Nevertheless, I still had an addiction to art, so I ended up quitting law and started looking for a job in a more creative field. I discovered Web3 by chance on Twitter while looking for information about crypto. I came across posts by artists talking about this new platform called Hic Et Nunc (HEN), and promptly discovered artists I really liked such as David Cheifetz, Clément Morin, and Laurence Fuller. After exploring the space for a month, I decided to start collecting. 

I had been looking for a new way to collect art as I didn’t have any more space at home. This was the first time in my life that I was able to interact with artists and collectors without feeling out of place, which was often the case IRL. ‍‍‍‍

The openness and diversity of the space made me feel at home, so I started to highlight undiscovered artists in a series of posts that I called, “hidden gems on HEN.” I decided to post on Twitter that I was looking for a job, preferably in the art field, imagining that I would continue to look at NFTs on the side, since it had become a passion. 

The community of artists and collectors responded very kindly to my post. I soon had an interview with objkt and was hired as the very first employee! Now I work as a curator and I have to say that this is a dream come true. My path is also similar to my grandfather’s, who started out as an economics professor before specializing in eighteenth-century ceramics. He always noticed that I had a love of art, and I think he would be proud to see me now. 

‍DK: Objkt.com is one of the biggest platforms for art on the Tezos blockchain. What is your mission for this role and what are your goals for objkt more broadly? 

‍C: We were recently joined by Kika Nicolela, so it’s teamwork now! She has been an artist and curator for many years — I highly recommend her work — while I’m more from the collector’s side. We bring different experiences to curation but we also have affinities in our interest in different styles of art. I’m personally in charge of art curation and relations with artists and collectors. 

On the collector’s side, my main goal is discoverability. I want my curation to help people find art that they love that they wouldn’t necessarily have seen without it, whether or not the artists are established. ‍

To that end, I recently introduced interviews with collectors to objkt, which is a great thing for both artists and collectors who might share similar tastes. I spend a lot of time looking for new artists, aiming at a diverse curation that reflects the wealth of art that we have on Tezos. I used to do two one-to-one meetings with artists to discuss themselves and their art, giving advice when asked. Sadly, I had to stop them due to time constraints, but now that we have two people on the curation team I may reintroduce it! 

Kika recently started doing Twitter Spaces, which represent an amazing opportunity for people to learn more about individual artists. The goal for the future is to increase the art on objkt’s various social media platforms, beyond the front page and Twitter. We have been working on the objkt Instagram account, and there is an objkt blog now too.

‍DK: What is your process for developing objkt’s themed curations and selecting works to spotlight?

‍C: We wanted the daily curations to be like miniature exhibitions, which is why they have always been thematic. Some themes are suggested by objkt users, while others are influenced by events or the day’s featured artists. Right now, we are adding more context instead of letting users find the theme by themselves.

With our featured artists, we want to reflect the wealth and diversity of art on Tezos, maintaining a balance between emerging and established creators who have consistently delivered great work on the platform. Some artworks might be highly finished while others might be experimentations that I personally find promising. We always try to ensure equal gender representation and a diversity of styles, while also showing art by artists from different parts of the globe. 

We are particularly sensitive to artists from the Global South. They represent a big part of the community due to the history of Hic Et Nunc on Tezos. ‍

‍DK: How would you describe your approach to collecting and how has it evolved over time?

‍C: I don’t collect anymore, as I want to avoid having to worry about potential conflicts of interest when curating. I want to focus solely on curation. It’s hard for me not to collect, but I support artists in a different way! 

‍DK: Your five favorite pieces are included throughout this interview. What makes them special to you?

‍C: These pieces all speak to me on a personal level, but they are not necessarily the same as those that I include in my curation. My favorites  also change according to my mood. In fact, I often see colors flowing out of them. 

Colors are attached to emotions for me. They are the only way I’ve found to accurately describe how I feel. I even use art to speak to my psychiatrist, because I cannot describe with words what is in my mind. ‍

‍DK: What advice would you give to new collectors and/or artists entering the space?

‍C: To new collectors, I would say: “be curious and do not hesitate to dig deeply to find new art and connect with like-minded collectors.” Looking for art together is the best thing there is.

To artists, I would recommend being patient. The space is not the same as it was before, but it’s still full of opportunities to make connections with other artists and collectors. It is a space where everyone helps each other so I would not hesitate to interact with the community. ‍

‍DK: And finally, are there any artists who you feel deserve greater recognition right now? 

‍C: There are so many great artists who have not been discovered yet, including those who have been in the space for a very long time. Here I finish with ten names, but there are so many more!