Justin Aversano makes a quantum leap for NFT photography

Artist name: Justin Aversano
Location: Los Angeles
Date minted archetypal NFT: Feb. 15, 2021
Which blockchains? Ethereum

Bio:

Unintentionally, the healing process of losing his duplicate sister astatine commencement sparked Justin Aversano’s vocation to go the poster kid for NFT photography. His astir celebrated collection, “Twin Flames,” has 5,900 ETH successful full income measurement connected OpenSea and aggregate million-dollar sales, including 1 auctioned astatine Christie’s. 

A multidisciplinary creator with a large oculus and passionateness for photography, Aversano’s travel into NFTs started with a travel to Peru to enactment with section shamans to effort to get implicit an addiction and depression. It was connected that travel that helium started to heal and recovered a spark that would go the archetypal thought for his iconic collection. 

“I ne'er questioned that I was an artist, but you cognize the feeling wrong erstwhile you’re grappling with anger, depression, sadness and grief. I was looking to outgrow the grief and go whole. In San Pedro, determination was a ceremonial tally by twins. It truly opened my bosom to connecting with my twin, who passed during my mom’s pregnancy. It felt similar opening Pandora’s box. I retrieve thinking, ‘Okay, there’s thing there, and I request to enactment connected it.’” 

A fewer months removed from San Pedro, Aversano was astatine an accumulation and photographed a brace of twins who came to his creation show. That night, helium knew helium was acceptable to instrumentality connected this caller task spotlighting twins. 

“I conscionable started with those twins that night. They past introduced maine to different twins. It became a full domino effect of connecting with twins. Understanding the feeling of what it would person been similar to person a duplicate and honoring my twin, and besides my mother, due to the fact that I consciousness similar losing my duplicate was besides portion of losing my ma and her getting ovarian cancer,” helium says.

“There are truthful galore antithetic elements, and a batch of my creation is for my mom, my household and honoring ancestors. I similar it erstwhile you’re moving successful healing,” Aversano shares. 

Despite putting unneurotic the Twin Flames task successful a accepted sense, including a publication and an accumulation highlighting the work, it wasn’t until Aversano discovered NFTs that things got crazy. 

“Another 2 years passed by. I had the Twin Flames task connected my website and Instagram, but past I discovered NFTs. I didn’t spot different photography projects online. I minted Twin Flames, and the adjacent time it sold retired — and changed my life.” 

Now, conscionable 2 years from his archetypal mint, Aversano —who is considered by astir to beryllium astatine the apical of the NFT photography nutrient concatenation — has amassed implicit 8,100 ETH successful income measurement connected OpenSea alone.

Aversano is besides carrying the torch for budding photographers who privation to pivot their originative endeavors to the satellite of NFTs with Quantum Art, a level focused connected curating and dropping NFT collections launched successful September 2021, with a peculiar absorption connected photography NFTs.

“With Quantum, I’ve said this from the beginning: I privation it to beryllium what Art Blocks is for generative art. I person truthful overmuch respect for Erick (Snowfro) with what helium has done with Art Blocks, and we privation the aforesaid for photography. There’s truthful overmuch respect for generative art, and I tin recognize that due to the fact that everyone’s machine native. I’d emotion to spot photography get its heyday due to the fact that it’s ever been the underdog,” Aversano states. 

Notable sales:

Twin Flames #49. Alyson and Courtney Aliano: Sold for 888 ETH ($3.7 cardinal astatine the time) connected Nov. 23, 2021, making it the eighth astir costly photograph ever sold. Purchased via PartyBid.

Twin Flames #83. Bahaeeh and Farzaneh: Sold for $1.1 cardinal connected Oct. 6, 2021 astatine Christie’s.

Twin Flames #2. Jessica and Joyce Gayo: Sold for 207 ETH ($959,027) connected Nov. 10, 2021.

Twin Flames #1. Ali and Gilli Glatt: Sold for 200 ETH ($686,696) connected Sept. 7, 2021.

Influences:

Aversano cites the power of photographers similar Irving Penn, David LaChapelle, Diane Arbus, Vivian Maier and Robert Frank, arsenic good arsenic painters similar Alex Gray and Dustin Yellin. 

He is inspired by each NFT photographers but gives a peculiar shout-out to Beeple: “That feline is the biggest power connected everyone!”

Beeple’s Everydays: Bull Run, Day #4951 from Nov. 19, 2020. Source: OpenSea

Aversano besides highlights the power of salient NFT property Gmoney connected his emergence to NFT stardom. 

“In presumption of collectors, Gmoney was 1 of the biggest influences connected my life. We spoke a bit, and I asked him if helium was spending $250,000 connected a monkey JPG, would helium bargain existent art? He said to maine he’d alternatively bargain NFTs. He helped maine by talking to Flamingo DAO and the CryptoPunks community. They each supported maine with my NFT drops,” helium says. 

Which creator should we beryllium paying attraction to? 

In respect to different artists successful the abstraction catching his attention, Aversano notes IX Shells, a dependable and ocular creator whose portion Bend was precocious acquired by the Buffalo AKG Art Museum: “She’s 1 of my favourite artists. She’s chill arsenic a idiosyncratic and artist.”

He besides notes Summer Wagner, a lensman based retired of Rockford, Illinois.

In The Fullness of Time by IX Shells. Source: Twitter

Process and idiosyncratic style:

Talking astir however his artwork develops implicit time, Aversano says, “Every task I’ve been reasoning astir has been thought astir for years. There’s thing I’ve created and thought of minting an NFT the adjacent day. I’ve been moving connected these large projects for years, and it hasn’t existed successful the creation satellite arsenic I wanted it to.”

Smoke and Mirrors #78, featuring 2 pairs of twins: Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss and Duncan and Griffin Cock Foster. Source: OpenSea

“This is the champion clip successful my beingness arsenic an creator of this epoch — for everything that I make to beryllium an NFT. I spot a batch of different artists who person careers that are older than mine, and they’re getting into NFTs, and not each their worldly is connected the blockchain. This is the cleanable clip for maine arsenic an creator to person each my creation connected the blockchain from the beginning.”

“I often deliberation astir minting creation arsenic NFTs similar manus printing connected past scrolls connected the blockchain. It brings the past, contiguous and aboriginal unneurotic successful a peculiar way, and you tin unrecorded successful your integer assemblage successful your ain home,” helium concludes.