1on1 With Richard Nadler 🇩🇪
Richards links
Why do you do what you do?
Because I love being creative. I can’t start a day without creating art - it’s like my cup of coffee. My grandfather was a painter, my mother painted as well and my father was collecting and selling African art. I was always surrounded by art and I knew at one day I have to do the same - finally I started doing so - first as a art collector at the beginning of HEN and also as an artist recently.
What’s your background and have you always pursued art?
I was born and raised in Germany, studied Business Administration (Bachelor Degree) and Finance (Masters Degree). Worked for BMW and some Banks. I owned a coffee roastery and helped in the family business. I traveled a lot and learned a lot about foreign cultures and was always curious about art in the various countries. My father travelled to Africa with me to buy some art for his collection (Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast) it was always and adventure and I think these moments triggered my inner art desire. From that moment on, I was always on the look for some artpieces and also visited a lot of museums arround the world.
Who introduced you to Tezos?
Daniel is his name and he brought me to HEN from the beginning on. He is the CEO of StakeNow and also a very good friend of mine. Thanks for that Daniel!
What methods do you use to create Japanese Generative art , are there personal inputs / images that go into it?
I always start with my own ideas, never tried to copy anything and start from scratch with a concept/personal input. I made art with my own codes and I use modified AI/GAN models to develope and finalize my work as well.
It seems you’re a bit of an AI OG in the tezos space, what introduced you to AI as a medium?
Thanks for the AI OG title, but there were some guys first that I would describe as AI OGs Ganbrood, Mario Klingemann for example some idols of mine when it comes to AI works. The first works that I did are all coded and made by myself without the usage of AI. As I heard of these possibilities and options I tried to develope my works and did quite good so I started to dig deeper into that AI world and still keep myself updated from day to day.
Your recent FXhash collaboration (Gerhard) is reminiscent of your old hicetnunc series (Item #1 - onwards) . Where does the inspiration for the colour palette and texture come from for this style of your work?
I always loved and still love pixel glitches and pixel sorting. I used some pictures that I made sometimes just photos that I took and glitched them (freestyle) at some points I painted then initial works digitally and glitched them afterward until I was satisfied with the result. I love Gerhard Richters art he es absolutely an idol for me when it comes to traditional art.
What role do you think an artist has in the world?
Artists for me in the world are essential. They make the world colorful and educate as well. In each aspect a world without artists would be awful. Despite creating amazing artworks an artist should be an idol, help others and should be open-minded and friendly. In General I think every human being should behave like that and be a gorgeous person whenever possible.
Your Japanese Gen art collection is one of our favourite on objkt. Was Japanese culture always something that fascinated you or is it a newly discovered genre?
Thanks so much and I am happy that you like that collection so much - My father worked in Japan for some years and whenever I could visit him I traveled from Germany to Japan to experience this wonderful country with him. The landscape, people, Japanese culture just fascinated me from the beginning on and it became a big part of my daily life. My dad passed away when I was 18 and one of our last trips to Japan where during the Sakura - the cherry blossom. Thats also a reason why I am emotionally related to that lovely country. So to sum up I was always fascinated by that country.
What has been a seminal experience for you?
The early death of my father when I was 18. He was a gorgeous dad that always helped me finding my directions in life. He guided me without being restrictive but always told me when I was reaching so borders. After his death I felt like my guide/mentor was missing and I tried to become an adult as fast as possible. At this time I started to paint some works by myself and where able to work on my grief and try to cope with my awful loss. Art helped me that much to get back into my old life. So in a Part of my artist life my father plays a big and influential role. Happy to had a father like him that showed me so much about art.
What’s your favourite artwork?
The Kiss from Gustav Klimt
Which artists inspire you ?
Gerhard Richter, Damien Hirst, Otto Dix, Heinrich Campendonk
Can the artistic life be lonely? If it is what do you do to counteract it?
Of course it can be lonely. I spend several hours alone and working on new artworks. At the moment my son is 7 months old and pretty demanding - so having these hours alone are pretty precious for me. For some people loneliness is great but I love to be among people to entertain and have fun - I love my life and meet with my friends, so some winetastings, cook some delicious food together. I have a fixed daily schedule so before 12 I am creating and after noon I spend the rest of the day with my family.
What do you dislike about the traditional and digital art world?
I always disliked the behavior of some traditional galleries, taking 80% of a sold artwork and giving 20% to the artist has nothing to do with fairness in my opinion. Also the way they tell artists what to do and what they aren’t allowed to do (heard about that galleries forbid the contracted artists to mint NFTs and so on is another point I criticize on the traditional art work. I want to highlight that I don’t generalize all galleries under my critic but some of them playing the game pretty bad.
Are there any flaws you pick out in your own work?
Works with flaws aren’t minted - so now. My works have to be 100% satisfying for me before I present them to the public.
What do you see as the best part in one of your pieces?
The details and structures in my art in general.
What’s your strongest memory of your childhood?
Going out in the forests with my grandfather. He showed me a lot about flora and fauna in our forests. I enjoyed the time so much with him.
What’s your scariest experience?
The death of my father.
What , if you have one, is the best tool that you can't live without?
Laptop
Something you love and don't love outside of art?
I love: My family, Friends, traveling, wines and good food, cars, the nature.
I dislike: Unfriendly people, beetroot.
Lastly, do you have any spoilers for your next tezos release? 👀
There will be a Gerhard reloaded version of the successful fxhash collaboration with Leander Herzog this year.
Some of Richard’s tezos work
Indulgence by the Sea
Objkt #48 Stargate Talisman
Evolution 8 I Shinka I 進化
Tree of Love I Ai no ki I 愛の木
Architectural Revolution I Kenchiku Kakumei I 建築革命
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