How Zhuk’s calm artistry makes the ancient modern

When you see a Zhuk painting, there is no doubt that it is someone else’s work. The Azerbaijani artist’s style has become a staple of Web3 over the past year, injecting a digitally heavy NFT space with some refreshingly ancient aesthetics. A third-generation family artist, Zhuk brings a unique contemporary lens to classical figurative painting, often depicting the human body as if suspended in water or seen in a dreamy, float-like state. This approach allows her to play with shape, contrast and color in fascinating ways.

Zhuk’s work has been featured in Of the time The NFT initiative Slices of Time, assembled by some of the biggest names in the space (including Cozomo de Medici), and displayed at the legacy auction house Sotheby’s, a remarkable achievement for any artist. A well-deserved honoree of 2023’s NFT100, nft now caught up with Zhuk to talk about her work, how she got into the NFT space and how she’s building a Web3 brand to reach beyond the walls of her canvas.

A slow and steady climb

In April 2021, Zhuk entered the NFT world when she minted Dualism — a piece depicting a man sitting in a watery environment that evokes Rodin’s The thinker — at Foundation. Shortly after, the piece was purchased by NorCal Guy, a collector known for helping to spotlight up-and-coming artists in Web3 by collecting their work.

“I learned about the NFT space from the news and it caught my attention immediately,” Zhuk explained while speaking with nft now. “I loved the idea of ​​a space where you can present your work to a wide creative audience. My first step was the Foundation platform, where I was lucky enough to meet a collector who appreciated my work. Everyone knows Norcal Guy! I am very happy to be a part of this room.”

Since that sale, Zhuk has consistently engaged with the community, posting one fascinating piece after another. In the middle of a bear market, Zhuk’s 1/1s regularly sell for 15-20 ETH, numbers that seem to defy the gravity of current trends.

A modern lens on tradition

Since Zhuk comes from a long line of classically trained artists, she has a natural interest in combining these traditions with her contemporary vision, a style she describes as “modern with a classical approach.”

“My art is not focused on the human body in particular, regardless of whether it is female or male,” Zhuk said of her work. “The image of a character in my works is just a human form, which every viewer can try on himself to feel the atmosphere and emotions that I want to convey through the canvas. I depict naked bodies because that is how we come to this world, naked and in the water, which I also use in my works. Thus, I try to remove the entire material and everyday layer of our life, leaving nothing but pure emotions.”

Zhuk’s NFT drops often revolve around ancient themes, a conceptual lean perhaps most evident in the collections The Seven Virtues and The Three Graces, which deal with the principles and ethics of ancient Greek mythology.

“Virtue promotes the betterment of man beyond what has been imposed on us by societal standards, dominant ideologies, and our own wounds,” Zhuk said of the thematic underpinnings of these projects. “Virtue teaches us that we must think, act and speak based on moral principles, not based on how society or the media tells us to.”

Zhuk’s plans for the next year are as ambitious as anyone’s and include ambitions to collaborate with artists in the space, sell her work at Christie’s and build a personal brand where her art will “extend well beyond the canvas.” And after that? “Get some rest,” Zhuk says. It’s not a bad plan; after all, she has earned it.

Want more NFT100 honoree interviews? Get the full list of everyone we spoke to here.