Yu Cai, a visionary artist from China, has garnered acclaim for her captivating vaporwave aesthetics, manifested through both singular artworks and expansive NFT collections.
Choosing Venice as her home after acquiring a European master’s degree in traditional Chinese oil and engraving painting, Yu Cai embarked on a quest for her personal artistic voice. She eventually found her muse in vaporwave, a genre that synthesizes futuristic dynamism with a palette of either luminous or subdued hues. Yu Cai’s creations draw profound inspiration from her Chinese heritage intertwined with the essence of European life.
Her artistic journey reached a milestone with her participation in the Stars of Century, a Chinese art exhibition in 2014, marking her first public display to a wide audience. Over the following ten years, her works have been a staple at prestigious events globally, including an appearance at the Italian Carnello cArte ad Arte engraving exhibition in 2018 and a feature in the Spanish contemporary art gallery Sala aLfaRa in 2019.
My background is in traditional painting and printmaking, so I have been drawing by hand for years. I recently started using digital tools because I wanted to be able to create more precise color gradations,reflects Cai.
Yu Cai's exploration into NFT technology has led her to fully embrace vaporwave within the blockchain realm, giving birth to an array of singular non-fungible tokens and comprehensive digital collections, highlighted by exclusive NFT series.
Among her most acclaimed works is the Dragon Street collection. This idea came to Cai as she was crafting pieces dedicated to imaginary cities, with a unique twist: rather than focusing on architecture, these pieces spotlight portraits of individuals. Cai’s concept invites viewers to perhaps recognize themselves within these images at certain junctures of their lives.
The Dragon Street Collection. Source: OpenSea
Cai didn’t choose the collection's name on a whim. In Chinese folklore and mythology, the dragon symbolizes prosperity, well-being, and fortune, often regarded as a herald of auspicious beginnings. The collection features 333 unique NFTs, with the starting price listed at 0.085 ETH (approximately $300) at the time the article was penned.
While maintaining her distinctive style, Cai's other pieces diverge significantly in their thematic elements. Among these standout works is the animated musical NFT titled Sky Mall, Gear City. Here, Cai envisions a futuristic, visually captivating city brimming with intricate details, brought to life through vector graphics and complemented by a harmonious soundtrack.
Cai has frequently expressed her appreciation for the decentralized community. Initially concerned about attracting enough collectors with her individual tokens, she even reduced the prices across her series to make her NFTs more accessible. Nevertheless, it appears her efforts to widen her audience would have borne fruit regardless.
Continually pushing the boundaries of her craft, Cai staunchly refuses to produce work merely because it's marketable, fearing it would strip her of her creative spark. She encourages fellow artists to leverage social media to cultivate their own communities, highlighting how these networks often become the primary patrons and inadvertent promoters of their work.
