TokenEditions proudly welcomes artist Adam Martinakis and his new NFT art collection "Anatomy of Reality". Inspired by philosophical questions about our existence amidst the grand cosmos, Adam explores profound human emotions and psychological states through sensual posture and experiments with light. 
Of Polish and Greek descent, Adam Martinakis was born in Luban and moved to Athens at the age of 10. A childhood talent for the arts, especially for painting, led him to study Interior Architecture and Decorative Arts & Design. In 2000, a decade into his career as an interior designer, Adam began experimenting with digital media and ultimately shifted the focus of his career to 3D architectural projects. He also began creating personal artworks that allowed him to experiment with various mediums, including painting, ceramics, and 3D digital sculpture. He now works full-time as an independent graphic designer and 3D visual artist primarily in Crete, Greece, but also in Poland and the UK. 


Sixty-two vertical miles above the Mediterranean Sea that carries seashells to the beach in front of his home in Crete, lies a vast and expanding source of Adam’s creative inspiration: the universe. “For me the root of inspiration is always the same, and it's existential. I've come to this world without being asked, and I'm trying to understand it. So art for me in general is a tool to understand this world and to understand others.” A look into Adam’s extensive portfolio of artworks reveals an abundance of cosmo-inspired artworks, many of which bear titles of some of some of science’s greatest concepts and theories, such as Quantum Gravity, Light and Matter, Cosmic Dinner, and The String Theory. In addition to referencing philosophical questions about life and our existence, Adam also uses a great deal of symbols in his artworks.  For him, symbolic language is a universal language, and it’s the tool he uses to communicate messages to his viewers about topics that are not only important to him, but also impact all of humanity, such as climate change. The many levels within Adam’s works do leave room for interpretation, however. “Sometimes people see different things - this is the beauty of art. I always leave some doors open for interpretation, and I’m always happy when other people see something I didn't see.”

Adam’s artworks have been appreciated and collected in their original and print forms for well over a decade. Since 2020, he’s made a handful of them available to collectors in the NFT space. “Last Kiss”, a piece that beautifully captures the eternal intimacy shared during two lover’s last kiss, is an example of an artwork successful both in physical and NFT form, the latter selling for 5 ETH earlier this year.  

 

His most recent collection, “Anatomy of Reality”, consists of 3D paintings created with a new technique that Adam developed over the months previous. In each, shadows and refractive lights flow gracefully through translucent figures, representing our inner lives beyond what is visible to the eye: personalities, relationships, erotic feelings, changing emotions,.... While the technique used to create this collection may be new, the message conveyed is consistent with Adam’s other collections of philosophical inspired artworks: When we remove all opinions and analysis, and are left with only our personalities and emotions, our universal and true identities are revealed.

Adam Martinakis' artworks have been featured in numerous international expositions and festivals. Multi-talented in painting, photography, graphic design, ceramics, and visual arts, he is also a distinguished member of the Greek Chamber of Fine Arts.


TOKENEDITIONS TALKS WITH ADAM MARTINAKIS

What was your first childhood memory of being creative?

At the age of 5 I remember having created a ceramic vase as a gift to my mother for giving birth to my sister. But of course I also recall painting everyday as a kid.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I loved geography and collected maps as a child and I wanted to become a cartographer at that time.

What led you down the path of being an artist?

I studied Interior design but Fine arts drew me closer for its metaphysical mystery and depth.

Who do you look up to as an artist, and why?

My greatest inspiration were the lessons and artworks by the Swiss artist Paul Klee from the Bauhaus group of artists. Paul Klee is famous for his amazing artwork,s but it was his teaching on composition and color that opened a big door for me.

Who or what inspires you most?

The big and great existential unknown is my main inspiration. Philosophy, metaphysics and human conditions are my tools.

With the life experience you have now, what advice would you give yourself 10 years ago.

I am pretty happy how things have turned out so I would advise him to do what he will, anyway.

How have you had to adapt the work and art you create to the “COVID era”? Please elaborate on the impact it’s had.

The covid period (which is still active) has not had much impact on my work. I was working remotely from my home and continued to do so during this period. It was more of a psychological impact that it had on others that somehow has had an influence on me. I live with others so they influence me by choice.

If you could collaborate with any musician / composer / singer with your art, who would you choose, and why?

I am a fan of electronic music so I would choose the UK group Bicep or DJs like Guy Gerber or Maceo Plex. I usually create during the night, so listening to this kind of music has an impact on my work somehow anyway.

Rod Serling (creator of The Twilight Zone) famously said “The most important thing about the first sale is for the very first time in your life something written has value and proven value because somebody has given you money for the words that you've written. And that's terribly important. It's a tremendous boom to the ego, to your sense of self-reliance, to your feeling about your own talent.” This quote is applicable for all creatives, not just writers. What did your first sale feel like, and how did it change the course of your life (if at all)? How much was the payment amount, and what was it for?

My first sales were during an exhibition in Luxembourg, which was the first that took place outside my countries Greece/Poland, and it was this psychological push we sometimes need to decide to become a full time fine artist. The exhibition was also important because I was a winner of an international art competition so it was a double "push" for me.

Why do you make art?

To express, which I believe is a universal pattern, everything is expressing itself in this universe, with what it’s got. This way I also try to find "what I got" and get answers for my big questions, because creating real art means digging inside yourself.


What does being creative mean to you?

Diving inside yourself and getting things out of there is an interesting way to share your own perspective.


If you could live in any era (past, present or future), when would you live, and why? Who would be the first person you try to collaborate with?

I'm a big fan of history, I live in Greece which has a very long history so I study it often and try to imagine those people who lived at that time, so in different times than I do now. I am amazed by the Minoan civilization and probably would like to live there. It was the first advanced European civilization and it is very interesting in every way. I am interested in the future as well and it excites me thinking and imagining it. I do not think much about collaborations.


What music are you listening to right now?

Electronic :)

What do you like to do outside of creating art?

Walks with my dog in nature, thinking about philosophical issues, meeting and talking with other people. Making love.

What tools did you use to make your drop on TokenEditions (e.g. software, computer, tablet, etc)?

My main tool is the 3d software, 3ds max, I have used it for more than 20 years now, it's one of the oldest in the market. I create on a pc.

Can you talk about your evolution as an artist and your journey into the NFT space?

I started being a digital 3d artist well before the coming of the nfts. For me being in the nft space is about not feeling as alone as before, because most of the artists I was meeting were painters, sculptures etc. Digital art, until the nfts, was not too popular so we were not that many. Beside that, it's a very handy and nice way to sell your art through the blockchain and to collectors from different backgrounds are now involved.

If you’ve released NFTs before, how has releasing your art as NFT’s changed your life (if at all)?

Yes, I have released and sold many nfts before and it has changed my life in a way but not dramatically. It is the next stage of digital art and life evolution.

If this is your first NFT release, why did you choose to release your art as an NFT, and how did you choose these specific pieces of work?

It is not the first, but this release is a collection of a style I've been working on for the last 2 months. A style I have tried before but could not come to a satisfying point until now. It's actually a kind of 3d painting with shadows and light in the form of caustics.

Why are NFTs important for the world of digital arts? Why are they important to you?

It feels like a natural marketplace for digital art (or digitalized art) and they are important to me as they are a new stage of evolution of digital art. They are, like everything that we use a lot, the way to something that will come next and then again. It's all a part of a journey that usually we understand at a later time, or we have the intuition that it is important.

What is your favorite NFT piece or collection to date? (Yours or someone elses)

I do not have a favorite of mine or of others. I like many, but I can not say that one is my favorite just yet, I hope this will change. This current drop, however, is very interesting for me.

Who are your favorite artists in the NFT space right now, and why?

I do not have a favorite artist but there are a lot of works from many artists that I like. Too many to mention. Usually I like 1 or 2 pieces from one artist, not enough for one to become my favorite.

We have elements in us that are made from dying stars that exploded - we are a puzzle of things that has the age of the universe, it needed 13.8 billion years for us to come here. I take it as a miracle. I try to love everything, support everything, not to destroy, but to create. There are people who destroy, I try to make them understand what they are doing. - Adam Martinakis