mr-monk • Artist Spotlight

Mr. Monk is an artist from Mexico City. Despite a busy role in the corporate world as a Creative Director in the world of Mobile Marketing, Mr.Monk’s creations continued to flow during the past 10 years until he managed to leave his day job to became full-time artist. His current creations are highly influenced by popular culture and the characters within it. Portraying a distorted reality with ghoulish monsters, skulls, or with visions of future and new dimensions of hope for humankind.

What got you in to Crypto art?

This very democratic way of opening Art and forgetting all those barriers of gender, color and social condition to accessing to sell or buy is something so exciting that these first efforts will have their place in the history of art. I have worked as creative director for mobile companies for the last 10 years. And I have collected comics, cards and toys throughout my life. So limited editions or digital art is not something new for me. The new thing is to be able to monetize it and that you can connect with people around the world, to make collaborations or to sell and also to buy, as a collector or as an investment.

Where do you get your inspiration?

Everything I do, in one way or another, has to do with popular culture. But I think the biggest influence on my art comes from the old Creepy Magazines of the 50s and 60s even more than the comics. I always use concrete graphic forms, solid colors, few gradients, but above all because of the imagery. Monsters, skulls, fantastic situations, futuristic visions, beings from outer space or come from the deep sea.

What do you think of traditional artwork?

I Love it! Although I have changed the inks by digital mediums, I miss those pure expressive bushstrokes. Also I miss those happy accidents that every piece of artwork has, even if the artist denies them.

Do you think your art is fulfilling a purpose?

I don't know if art with a purpose becomes design. But i'm pretty sure that this way of making art, is fulfiling one. Every work of every cryptoartist is pushing to open doors we couldn't imagine 10 years ago. This is just the beginning. We have a whole universe to discover.

Final question, what’s next for you as an artists?

What's next for me is keep creating. Keep experimenting. Always looking for and trying new ways to expand the artistic world.