We had the opportunity to sit down with Isaac Saidel-Goley, one of MakersPlace’s most avid collectors, to discuss what inspires and motivates him in the world of the web3 arts. You can find and follow Isaac on Twitter at @isaidelgoley
MP: How did you start collecting art? What is the main motivation behind your collecting?
ISG: I started collecting crypto art almost exactly a year ago. I’ve been into crypto for a long while, and I eventually went down the Ethereum rabbit hole and found this incredible, passionate community of artists creating some of the most interesting, evocative art I’ve ever seen.
My primary motivation is to collect art that moves me, makes me think, and makes me feel lucky to have it in my gallery. Another motivator is supporting this community of artists around the world who devote their lives and livelihoods to creating beauty.
MP: When did you fall in love with a piece of art? What was it?
ISG: I vividly remember visiting the Boston Museum of Fine Art as a kid and seeing Salvador Dalí’s work. Seeing the world from a new, mysterious, secret perspective was an extraordinary experience.
MP: What is your focus regarding the artists in your collection? What is the proportion of emerging artists to established ones in your collection?
ISG: I’m not sure I have a focus, to be honest. I enjoy all sorts of art — traditional, photographic, surreal, generative, AI collaborative, dark/disturbing, animation/glitch.
I mostly collect from emerging artists — it’s incredibly rewarding discovering and supporting talented new artists as they begin their journey. But of course, I also collect from the legends.
MP: What were the latest artworks you purchased?
ISG: I recently collected some incredible work by @osipenkovnft on Tezos and @stas_kulesh on both Eth and Tez.
MP: How many artworks do you own?
ISG: Between Eth and Tez, I’ve collected at least 1000 artworks.
MP: Have you ever presented your art collection publicly?
ISG: I’ve curated most of my Eth collection on my @gallery at gallery.so/isaidelgoley. I’m going to add my Tez collection there as soon as that functionality is available. For now, you can see most of my Tez collection at objkt.com/profile/isaidelgoley.
MP: What is your most treasured artwork?
ISG: That’s such a difficult question. I can’t narrow it down to one, but my two most treasured artworks are @kmaruve’s doll’s house (her Makersplace genesis and probably greatest work) and @enixsta’s La Sedia (her most personally significant work, a treasure). I feel incredibly lucky to have these two artworks.
MP: How important is it for you to meet the artists who created the artwork?
ISG: I love to meet and talk with the artists I collect. It’s a real privilege that web3 collecting makes possible. I’ve had the honor to build a community of thousands of artists — something I never imagined a year ago.
MP: How do you go about discovering new artists?
ISG: I discover new artists primarily through a weekly art share thread I host on Twitter, and I find truly remarkable art there every Friday.
I also use @gallery’s new social/timeline function to find new artists. And I talk to my collector and artist friends on Twitter all the time.
MP: What was your happiest moment being involved in art?
ISG: My most meaningful and rewarding moment in this space was during the early days of the Ukraine invasion. I felt sick and outraged and helpless, along with most of the world, and I wanted to do something to help in some small way. And it occurred to me that there were artists who needed crypto to escape the war zone. So I used my liquid crypto to collect from about 50 Ukrainian artists near the Russian border. That was a very emotionally tumultuous experience — happy certainly isn’t the right word — but it was gratifying to help artists escape a terrible situation. And, of course, the art itself was beautiful.
