The Rise of XCOPY
With over 2000 pieces of art and $60 Million plus in sales, XCOPY is one of the top 10 NFT Artists of all time. The $6.2 Million sale of “All Time High in The City” is in the Top 20 most expensive NFT sales ever.
This article will go into detail on the lessons we can learn from XCOPY’s rise to prominence.
A true crypto degen, XCOPY has opted to remain anonymous. What we do know is he is a London based artist born in 1981. Like Banksy, the mystery around XCOPY only strengthens his image and demand for his art.
Identity through Art
Judging by his art themes XCOPY is no stranger to the 9 to 5 grind. This runs through much of his work:
Working from home
Crowds on Waterloo train station
“Being a worker drone on the 10th floor,” faceless, plugged in desk jockey
Drinking too much coffee in WeWork
Shopping at Tesco Metro
Perseverance
XCOPY created art for a decade on Tumblr gaining a cult following. He was only absent for one month between August 2010 and April 2020.
To create art for a decade without a major payday, tells us a few things:
He loves what he does.
He isn’t in it for the money
In 2010 NFTs weren’t on the radar. If you enjoyed creating GIFs, you were doing it for the love of your craft. As XCOPY himself said:
“I want everyone to create more, I always feel better when I’ve made something.”
Early Prints
Tumblr fans loved his work, buying prints and hanging them in their homes long before NFTs became a thing.
They are now rare treasures with historical significance.
XCOPY previously said someone owns a 1 of 1, as he destroyed the remaining physical copies. Imagine what that piece is worth in the current market.
Missed Opportunities
In 2017 XCOPY missed out on being included in the famous Curio Cards collection.
Adam McBride (NFT Historian) recounts the tale:
“You could put in your Google form to be part of Curio Cards, and he got it in too late and was denied. If XCOPY was part of the Curio Cards, it would have been a whole different story. The collection would have been even more coveted today.”
A complete Curio Card set sold for $1.2 million at a Christie’s Auction.
Early NFT Sales
Even so XCOPY decided to continue creating art. In early 2018 he sold his first NFT on the Ascribe platform to Jason Bailey. He discusses this below:
“I tried for a while to sell the Ascribe editions, but no one was crazy enough to buy. So, I decided to start the edition at £1 and increase the price by £1 with each edition. A few people picked one up, but it fizzled out around edition five.”
Lack of demand was a common problem for XCOPY in those days. Considering this was 8 years after he began sharing his art no one would have blamed him for giving up on his dream.
His determination is on full display in this thread:
Artistic Integrity
His Artist’s Bio states his work, “explores death, dystopia and apathy through distorted visual loops.”
XCOPY has never strayed far from his patent neon nightmare-in-a-blender style. Seen as the original glitch artist in the NFT space he is an inspiration for much of the glitch art today.
“I like contrasting everyday problems with death, it takes away their power for a moment. Dystopia creeps in further everyday, it's hard not to talk about it.” XCOPY said in a rare interview.
Fans love the punk feel of his work, which features skulls, fire, psychedelic influence and a lot of neon. The subject matter can be gruesome, with witty and flippant titles and captions.
Crypto journalist David Koblesky explains:
“XCOPY is an excellent illustrator and on the strength of that alone the work is good. The rough-edged, simplistic shapes with minimal colours and glitch elements, almost always on black, is striking. But where XCOPY becomes XCOPY is in the motion. XCOPY varies key elements of the initial drawing over time to where it becomes something new, something with great energy that feels alive.”
Principles
His tweets show his passion for human rights, animal welfare and the environment. He is anti-authoritarian and anti-corporation. XCOPY auctioned several Grifters NFTs raising over $500,000 for charity.
XCOPY refers to the command used in many operating systems to copy a file from one directory to another. It is an obvious allusion to the possibility of replication and distribution of artistic content. His decision to apply CC0 licensing to his art fits with this ethos.
Accomplishments
He began having major NFT sales as early as February 2020, when a collaboration work First Supper sold for $333,716.26.
The Departed sold for $630,000 at the Sotheby's New York Auction in 2022.
Gary Vee suggested XCOPY “shows all the nuances of potentially becoming a Warhol, Banksy, or Pollock.”
After his Death Dip purchase 4156 took to Twitter to hail XCOPY as “the most important living artist.”
Summary
I recently had the pleasure of a rare Q&A with XCOPY where he gave advice to up and coming artists.
DV: “What key lessons did you learn coming up?”
XC: “Do your own thing. Do everything you can to preserve your independence. Turn off notifications!”
DV: “What mistakes have you made that others should avoid?”
XC: “Don’t line up too many projects. Say no, save space to be impulsive.”
DV: “What advice would you give new artists starting out?”
XC: “Create for yourself, for fun. Forget about selling, just make art. Trust your gut.”
DV: “What is a good motivation to get started?”
XC: “Life is short. Scream into the void while you can!”
I am embarking on creating “The Complete Works of XCOPY” so you can look forward to more content soon.
