PIV originates from the early meme culture of Bitcoin and Ethereum, with its creative practice viewing crypto punk as both a theme and a medium. Its initial interest in on-chain culture has gradually evolved into a deep exploration of visual language, art history, and reinterpretation.
PIV draws inspiration from various styles, including film noir and 20th-century modernism, employing techniques such as composition, shadow, abstraction, and restraint to imbue punk derivative works with deeper meaning while retaining the original pixel form.
In this interview, PIV explores how punkism serves as a method to recontextualize crypto punk within the realms of digital and physical media. From the intriguing on-chain works to meticulously composed oil paintings, he discusses the relationship between constraint and freedom, the role of community, and the ongoing dialogue between Web3 art and its historical predecessors.
OpenSea：
Could you share with us your artistic journey? How did you initially embark on your artistic path? And how has your artistic style evolved into what it is today?
EXAMPLE:
Initially, my main interest was in Bitcoin and the various memes surrounding it during the block size debate. Later, my interest expanded to Ethereum. At first, my interest was still mainly focused on memes. My interest in blockchain art came relatively late when I came across cryptopunk and derivatives, and eventually realized that I could innovate on derivatives. Then, starting from the end of 2023, derivative paintings gradually appeared.
OpenSea：
When creating artwork with a cyberpunk theme, do you choose a specific art period or artist as your source of inspiration? What is your creative process like?
EXAMPLE:
I try to draw inspiration from visual culture in a broad sense, looking for anything that interests me. These inspirations usually come from the work of artists, photographers, or filmmakers, and how they translate ideas into images to achieve a certain effect. But inspiration can also come from internet memes, advertisements, or illustrations in comic books.
I borrow techniques from punk derivative works, including composition, scene arrangement, shadows, light, and reflections. For example, in film noir, a character's shadow is sometimes larger than the character himself to imply a threat; or someone's hand shadow is projected off-screen onto the protagonist's face. I enjoy applying these visual effects to the world of cryptopunk.
The creative process here is often accidental: you notice something while doing something else, and then think about how to apply it to punk music.
In painting, I am deeply influenced by 20th-century modernism, especially Suprematism, Bauhaus, and Zurich Concrete Art. Although my work fully incorporates crypto-punk elements, I believe these influences are inevitably reflected in my paintings.
OpenSea：
Your work has been exhibited outside of digital art spaces and will soon be exhibited in physical venues, such as the CryptoPunks Brunch and Onchain Harmony events during the opening of the NODE Foundation. What does it mean to you to see your work connecting digital art experiences with real-world art experiences?
EXAMPLE:
Until the second half of 2023, I had been creating only digital works, but I had a strong desire to create physical works and to transform the digital world into physical in some way. At the time, I did not know how to do it, although the idea of simply copying digital works onto a canvas did not appeal to me.
My creative process took a turn when I started cutting out fragments from punk art, turning them into almost abstract works, and then painting those fragments. I had never really painted before, let alone painted on canvas with oil, but studying the abstract paintings of Verena Loewensberg and Vera Molnar helped me get started.
Physical artworks originated from digital artworks, and later, paintings also began to influence digital artworks. For example, Cropped Punks is a collection of works on the Opepen platform, containing 80 cropped images of CryptoPunks in the Opepen standard (4x6 pixels). CryptoPunks is a punk derivative project on the Opepen platform. Later, I combined several of the cropped images into a painting, which was also exhibited at the Punks Brunch event.
OpenSea：
Do you use different creative methods when creating works for physical environments and when creating works for on-chain or digital displays?
EXAMPLE:
That's a good question. For me, the creative process is completely different. My digital works are usually humorous or comedic, and sometimes they are like a riddle that you have to figure out for yourself to understand the deeper meaning they contain. These works are usually only 24x24 pixels. They are created very quickly and appreciated very quickly. You see one, smile, and then move on to appreciate other works.
Physical artworks, on the other hand, are much more restrained and have far less humor. Jokes on the wall quickly become boring, and the composition of physical artworks is more refined. The creation process takes longer and requires multiple preparations, not to mention the time spent mixing paints to achieve the desired effect.
OpenSea：
CryptoPunks is an important part of web3 art and culture. As an artist, what impact has participating in and interacting with the CryptoPunks community had on you?
EXAMPLE:
In a 1984 interview, Laurie Anderson recounted an anecdote from an evening performance in New York:
Andreas Weininger, a former trumpeter in the Bauhaus band, came to the Guggenheim Museum to give a lecture. He was 85 years old at the time. It was a Saturday night, and he came out and said, "Hi, I come from the nineteenth century." We all exclaimed, "Wow!" He continued, "You know, we also had Saturdays in the nineteenth century, and we would..." Then he began to describe those crazy, distant nights.
Those scenes sound so vivid, so exciting, so beautiful. It's a true legacy, and you can really feel it. Yes, countless artists have emerged throughout history, and the art tradition continues uninterrupted. We can learn from each other, move forward hand in hand, and treat each other as generously as possible.
I like this concept of continuity, and with the help of web3 and CryptoPunks, this line of inheritance, from the original CryptoPunks to all subsequent derivative versions, is actually visualized through the blockchain.
OpenSea：
What are some of your most memorable interactions or collaborations with members of the CryptoPunks community?
EXAMPLE:
The "Punk Art Exhibition" held in Linz from the end of 2024 to the beginning of 2025 was definitely a highlight. The curator's only requirement was to hold CryptoPunk NFTs. What was amazing was how Tschuuuly cleverly integrated all the elements to present a coherent and meticulously planned whole. The final product was a wonderful exhibition created by people who truly love punk.
Another highlight for me was Set 6 in Visualize Value’s public art protocol Openen. It’s not a CryptoPunks project in itself, but like all projects in the web3 space, many CryptoPunks members are involved as creators, collaborators, and collectors.
OpenSea：
Punkism reinterprets crypto-punk from the perspectives of art history and digital culture. What initially inspired you to merge these two worlds? And how do you define "Punkism"?
EXAMPLE:
My first real "epiphany" came when I was creating the piece Six Marilyns, which consists of six screenshots, actually mirrored screenshots from the Punks website, and these screenshots are not perfectly aligned.
On one hand, the image still clearly points to the homepage of the Punks website, displaying bids and offers; but on the other hand, the homage to Warhol is obvious, evident in the different background color, lipstick, and makeup. It was then that I realized I could imbue CryptoPunks with new meaning without drastically altering the image itself, and that I could create Punk derivative works in a way never before seen.
For me, the significance of punk lies in reinterpreting cypherpunk in every possible way, giving it a deeper meaning. As long as people are willing to make an effort to reinterpret it, it will remain relevant, and may even enhance its relevance to some extent.
OpenSea：
When creating your work, do you tend to respect the existing cryptopunk style, challenge it, or come up with entirely different ideas? How do you strike a balance between innovation and respect for existing pixel art?
EXAMPLE:
It's more about challenging the status quo. The original punk designs are permanently engraved on the Ethereum blockchain, exactly as originally conceived, so they have a certain untouchable status, which gives me a certain freedom to interpret them in a relaxed and casual way.
In some of my favorite pieces, I treat them in an almost unorthodox way, to the point that the elements of punk itself are almost entirely gone. For example, Faster Than His Own Shadow, a joke borrowed from the Lucky Luke comics where the cowboy shoots faster than his shadow, is reduced to a punk shadow wearing a cowboy hat and a faint trace of the cowboy hat itself in the punk version.
Realizing that you can do anything as an artist can be overwhelming, because you don't even know where to begin, but when you tell yourself that you can do anything within the scope of punk media, that limitation becomes a profound liberation.
You can explore the works of Sophie Taeuber-Arp or Matisse using punk visual language. Furthermore, creating as original and personalized works as possible within the constraints of this visual language is an interesting challenge in itself.
At the same time, preserving the characteristics of the original work as much as possible can also bring great satisfaction. For example, spending hours mixing oil paints in an effort to reproduce the colors of the original work to the greatest extent possible.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial or trading advice. Mentions of specific projects, products, services, or tokens do not constitute an endorsement, sponsorship, or recommendation by OpenSea. OpenSea does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information provided. Readers should verify any statements in this document before taking any action and are responsible for conducting due diligence before making any decisions.
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