Most artists spend years honing a style. m0dest spent 524 days doing the opposite.

The anonymous creator behind one of the most prolific bodies of work in web3 doesn’t want your approval, he wants your attention. His practice is built on discomfort, daily deadlines, and the kind of creative whiplash that would make most people quit. One day it’s glitch-heavy maximalism, the next a quiet, introspective vignette. There are no rules, just rhythm. And somehow, through the chaos, a throughline emerges.

Born out of crypto’s backchannels and unveiled through Transient Labs’ “AlterEgo” project at Art Basel, m0dest has turned anonymity into an advantage. That initial drop, framed as a masked contribution to a larger experiment, became the origin story. But instead of stepping into the spotlight, he doubled down on the mask. In a space obsessed with identity and influence, m0dest flipped it: the less you know about him, the more you have to engage with what he makes.

Now, with his “Nine Doors” project on the horizon, he’s opening new portals in generative memory and onchain permanence. One prompt, one piece, one reckoning at a time.

Each edition of Next Up showcases a new artist from our curated list of ascendant talents who have been making significant waves throughout digital art. This week, our spotlight turns to m0dest.

Matt Medved: How did you first become interested/involved in digital art?

m0dest: My artistic roots go back a long way, from music to making things — but my love for digital art really began when the early iPads were introduced. Holding this thing in my hands felt like a new canvas, so that was probably the very beginning. I’ve been in crypto since 2016; however, m0dest was really introduced in December 2023, as part of Transient Labs’ AlterEgo project during Art Basel. Initially, I was asked to participate as an anonymous contributor to the series, and after that experience, I decided to continue as m0dest — and 524 days later, here we are.

How would you describe your art?

Probably like someone with an identity crisis.

Jokes aside, when I took on this challenge, I was very intentional about having a mission, a method, and a process. The mission was simple: to make art every day that would connect with someone out there. The method and process were a little more complicated. I wanted to push my limits creatively, so by design, I set out every day to create something fundamentally different than the day before. Sometimes it works; sometimes I fall on my face. But the result is that every day I produce something unexpected. I think that is one of the things that has kept my little community engaged over the last year and a half — just not knowing what to expect each and every day. Now, that admittedly backfires from time to time. Today, if someone finds out about my work for the first time and goes to look through my timeline, they will undoubtedly be confused — or more likely think that I have lost my mind. However, at the end of the day, I do think that looking at the body of work, I’ve managed to create something that does feel congruent, even if it does have an identity crisis.

So, I’m not sure I even answered the question. How would I describe my art? Varied. Evolving. Contemplative. That probably works.

one big W from this series with @SuperRare : new friends. so many new connections, and im thankful for all of who you reached out. if I haven’t gotten back yet I will – just trying to dig out of a ton of messages.

in case we haven’t met :
– im m0dest
– i make art every day… pic.twitter.com/PSiTSEmctH
— Modest (@m0dest___) May 6, 2025

What is your process like? And where do you typically find inspiration?

My process is highly dependent on the subject matter. A constant is that at any given moment, I probably have somewhere between 8 and 15 conceptual ideas that I’m exploring. I find that context switching — hopping from piece to piece, or style to style, or medium to medium — breaks open some new thinking. So I try to make a little progress on a lot of things each day, and at some point, something sticks. I can see the end. At that point, I get a piece to a point where I feel like it’s “done enough,” which is usually much too early. I could spend weeks on individual pieces, but that is simply counter to what I’m trying to do here. I am sharing work daily that I am uncomfortable with. I know it’s not good enough. But that’s part of the magic, I think.

Inspiration for me comes from a variety of places. I spend a lot of time trying to make work that asks the viewer to consider something — either of themselves, or the work itself. I think of my work in chapters, on a timeline. Initially, much of my work was about self-analysis, introspection, asking questions of ourselves that we often hide from. I then moved into trying to think about how we could use art and emotion to fix broken moments in our digital lives (this was a project called errormessages.xyz). Currently, I’m in storytelling mode. Inspiration comes from cultural moments, societal backwardness, poking the power grid, questioning leaders and institutions, and more.

What was your breakthrough moment in web3?

I don’t think I’ve had a breakthrough moment, actually. When you produce the amount of work I do, it’s hard to point out a single moment or single work that had some catalytic effect on my trajectory. It’s been a daily grind, literally. Now, if I were to point to something specific, I do think that the “obey the prompt” series that I completed last month was a turning point. The concept behind that series was to have a machine generate daily prompts that I would have to create art from. In a small twist, I minted a token called the grandmaster, which would ultimately guide the decisions made in the project. Every day for 28 days, the gm (@Inceptionally1) would select 1 of 10 prompts on the web app I built for the project. I would have 24 hours to create art for that prompt and upload it to the system. When it was all said and done, I made 37 artworks, electrified even my own very energized community, and validated that the OTP concept was worth continuing. And since then, things have accelerated pretty significantly.

ӨBΞY ϮHΞ PЯӨMPϮ 27
<
rattling the cage >

prompt curated by @heyPalmes who wrote a beautiful piece about entering the space and being moved by @XCOPYART’s < mortal >

i took palmes inspiration and added my own – contextually pointed at the cages we carry around… pic.twitter.com/jX1MrAnSPD
— Modest (@m0dest___) April 4, 2025

What’s one piece you’ve created that holds particular significance to you — and why?

This is a tough one.

I think the “obey the prompt” series was my proudest moment.

As part of the series, several works stand out for me: “rattling the cage” and “the loneliness epidemic” are two that still pull at my heart.

Lastly, an unminted work titled “son what have you done in your one wild game of life” is very significant. It has a lot of meaning for me personally, but I also believe it could mean something important and impactful for anyone else. It is a man, sitting in front of some kind of heavenly figure — is it God? Is it a passed father? Is it oneself looking back? The characters sit on top of a seemingly moving chess board. Still stops me, even talking about it.

How do you approach community building and storytelling around your work?

Well, on the community-building front, I don’t think I’m particularly skilled at community building. I think that the nature of my practice asks for engagement, which naturally fosters a connection with your community — if you have one. For a very long time, I felt like I was creating art for a group of about 30 people. And it was awesome. I feel unbelievably fortunate to have had a core group of collectors from the Grifters community support me from day zero. Before I was who I am. It was just the work, and this little group of maniacs was into it. As time has progressed, my community has grown through the advocacy of collectors and relentless work output. I do take the time to understand each collector, which has become more and more important as awareness of my work appears to be growing.

On the storytelling point, I have big goals here. I think this is a place where storytelling can be the difference between good and great art. And for the record, I don’t think my art is that great. Sometimes it’s okay. A lot of times it sucks. But I know that I am skilled at narrative development, architecture, and bringing that to life through my work. My next project leans into this pretty deeply.

Ø฿ɆɎ ŦⱧɆ ₱ⱤØ₥₱Ŧ 19
< the loneliness epidemic >

prompt curated by the inimitable @OriginalGoldCat. brace yourselves.

we don’t have friends – we have severance coworkers and a role we play. we talk about things we don’t care about, to people we barely know. maybe we… pic.twitter.com/7cAT5KLFUf
— Modest (@m0dest___) March 27, 2025

What are the biggest challenges facing rising artists in web3?

Artists are still fighting through market headwinds — but honestly, that’s not the real challenge. The hardest part is unlearning 2021. That era was a sugar high. What we’re seeing now is slower, more meaningful growth. It’s harder, yes. But it’s healthier. The art now is less about flipping and more about building something lasting — a culture, a shared story, a collective bet on what this space can become. Art is no longer just an asset — it’s a signal of belief in this ecosystem.

“Art is no longer just an asset — it’s a signal of belief in this ecosystem.”
M0DEST

What advice do you have for rising artists in the space?

This likely won’t sit well with everyone, and that’s okay — I’m not looking for consensus. In this space, being a cryptoartist means wearing every hat at once. Just making art isn’t enough. You need to know how the tech works, how narratives spread, how communities grow. If you’re not thinking like a creator and a builder, you’re going to get left behind. I think the future belongs to the multi-hyphenates.

9️⃣

✖️ pic.twitter.com/FBpymfB2L0
— Modest (@m0dest___) May 3, 2025

What’s next for you — any upcoming drops or collaborations you’re excited about?

Absolutely. I’m gearing up to launch “Nine Doors,” a generative collaboration between memory and code. It’s about capturing life’s defining moments and translating them into symbolic doorways, which can be minted and locked onchain forever. This is more than art — it’s about permanence, presence, and what we choose to remember. Trailer’s up if you want to explore the concept.