The pantheon of pseudonymous NFT collectors has no shortage of enigmatic characters, but few enjoy the crypto-native cult following of Vincent of dough.
Considered a key proponent of the digital art ecosystem, the winner of the 2023 NFT100 is known for his NFT releases and eclectic projects, which now include the web3 gallery Art of This Millennium (AOTM), the Remarkable Pepes series, TungstenDAOand more.
Although he has been active in crypto since 2013 and was one of the original claimants of CryptoPunks, Van Dough’s current alias dates back to 2021. In an interview that year, he claims to have spent over $20 million on NFTs.
It’s fitting that Van Dough’s digital identity is more fluid than that of many of his contemporaries. There is no recognizable CryptoPunk to hang your hat on. It’s an ever-changing set of avatars that all somehow carry the same memetic energy, from a tuxedo-clad Pepe the Frog and Che Yu Wus Sea hams to the “Moon Birds” he made to troll Kevin Rose. You know it when you see it.
As a collector, Van Dough can distill his statement into a simple statement: “Collect works of art that resonate.”
“It’s more than just aesthetics, it’s a combination of intuition and knowledge of internet culture, identifying promising artists, keeping up with the contemporary art landscape and always looking for art with a fresh and unique perspective,” he tells nft . now. “Collecting is not a job for me; it’s something I really derive meaning and fulfillment from.”
“Collect works of art that resonate.”
Vincent of dough
While collecting may not be a job for him, others have tried to enlist his investment approach. In August 2021, Su Zhu and Kyle Davies, the founders of now-defunct crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, asked Van Dough to put together a $100 million NFT fund called Starry Night Capital.
Over the next several months, Van Dough helped the fund amass an impressive collection of blue-chip NFTs, including such projects as CryptoPunks, Deafbeef, and Autoglyphs, 1/1 art by XCOPY, Alpha Centauri Kid, and Grant Yun, and notable Art Blocks pieces by Tyler Hobbs, Dmitri Cherniak and Snowfro.
Unfortunately, Three Arrows Capital was declared bankrupt in July 2022 following the collapse of Terra Luna, and the Starry Night collection is currently in liquidation proceedings. In an October 2022 filing, consulting firm Teneo cited Van Dough’s cooperation in helping them account for and take possession of Starry Night’s assets.
“I bought them some jpegs and put together the Starry Night Capital collection,” says Van Dough responded on Twitter. “That’s the extent of our affiliation.”
Given the experience, it’s no surprise that Van Dough’s next chapter would mark a new direction by prioritizing direct engagement with the artists he champions.
A Web3 native gallery model
Launching in November 2022 and powered by Manifold, Art of This Millennium is a star-listed digital gallery featuring artists such as Cath Simard, Claire Silver, Drift, FVCKRENDER, IX Shells, and many more.
For such an irreverent iconoclast it may be surprising to hear Van Dough admit that the venture “was born out of the idea that there was much to learn from the traditional art world.”
“Artists today must run an entire business on their own: from creating pieces to managing auctions, maintaining relationships with both existing and potential new collectors, displaying their work and process, conducting interviews, and the list goes on keep going,” he explains. “It is impossible for one person to manage. We envisioned a world where a gallery could come and work hand-in-hand with artists.”
Unlike traditional art galleries, which can take up to 50 percent of sales, AOTM takes a flat commission of 15 percent. Van Dough has also pledged to honor 10 percent secondary sales royalties for artists, regardless of “where or how pieces are sold.”
“The term ‘NFT’ is too broad a term and unfortunately a lot of groundbreaking art has been thrown into this all-encompassing word that has become synonymous with flipping and trading.”
Vincent of dough
By offering vertically integrated services to contemporary digital artists – including curation, promotion, strategy, exhibitions, sales and legacy planning, and leveraging collector relationships within and beyond the web3 – Van Dough hopes to further differentiate the digital art market from the rest of the NFT space.
“The term ‘NFT’ is too broad a term, and unfortunately a lot of groundbreaking art has been thrown into this all-encompassing word that has become synonymous with flipping and trading,” he laments. “We view AOTM as a home for artists, collectors and patrons who value art for its aesthetic and cultural significance rather than its short-term financial value.”
In conversations with artists on the AOTM roster, consistent themes emerge around the respect they have for Van Dough and the support and guidance he has given them.
“I will never forget when he first tweeted about me after collecting my work ‘Right Click Print’. It changed my life,” recalls Alpha Centauri Kid. “I think he’s an excellent collector because he’s not afraid to show his conviction in the artists he believes in. He really just wants to help move the art forward.”
Grant Yun credits Van Dough’s early support for giving him critical momentum, praising the collector’s “depth of knowledge” and “willingness to mature this space.”
“I have confidence in the work of the VVD and trust in its vision,” says Yun. “I do believe there is a level of curation needed in web3 to help guide non-crypto demographics and open their eyes to the amazing array of artists this space has to offer.”
Different world adds, “Personally, he’s a down-to-earth guy who has always given me great advice whenever I asked, which has been a great help to my career in this new and ever-changing space.”
As Van Dough continues to build out AOTM, he has plans to create a physical footprint for the gallery and an upcoming auction featuring a selection of emerging artists.
“The crypto-NFT market can often be volatile and move quickly,” he warns. “We need to think about what’s best for our artists’ reputations in the long run, not just what’s going to be an exciting story in the short run.”
Supplier of Pepe
Van Dough’s online persona is inseparable from Pepe the Frog, Matt Furie’s iconic 2005 cartoon character who has become one of the internet’s most enduring and often misunderstood memes.
An avid collector of the early and influential CounterParty project Rare Pepes, Van Dough has long been a patron of Pepe-inspired art. Last July, Van Dough curated a series of the modern CounterParty project False Rares, commissioning the likes of DeeKay and Seerlight for Pepe tributes. Given the project’s historical ties to the earliest days of blockchain art, Van Dough felt honored to help usher in a new generation of artists.
“Pepe the Frog is an iconic meme that represents the culture of the internet. It really is our Mickey Mouse figurehead,” Van Dough gushes. “Pepe represents the power of the internet to shape and influence our perception of the world.”
“Pepe the Frog is an iconic meme that represents the culture of the internet. It really is our figurehead of Mickey Mouse.”
Vincent of dough
Coincidentally, the Fake Rares series would turn out to foreshadow Van Dough’s own Pepe project. After Jack Butcher’s rebellious Checks phenomenon sparked an open edition craze at the beginning of the year, he launched his own version called Pepe Checks. Offered at a price of $6.90, his open edition exceeded all expectations and grossed more than $1.6 million in 24 hours.
“It all happened essentially overnight,” admits Van Dough. “I saw an opportunity to create a piece of art and a meme that felt like the right commentary in response to Jack Butcher’s Cheques, and the community just took to it.”
“It really shows how people want to collect items that resonate with them and how Pepe is one of the most recognized figures on the internet,” he adds. “The Checks tapped into the collective humor and creativity of the internet — it’s quite beautiful.”
A week later, Van Dough announced his new project Notable Pepes. Each Pepe Check puts a new spin on the classic Rare Pepes and Fake Rares model, acting as a raffle ticket giving holders the chance to hit weekly Pepe art drops. The collection already featured cards from Rare Pepe OGs like Joe Looney and Rare Scrilla, in addition to contemporary newcomers like Terrell Jones and batz. In this way, Van Dough wants to “bridge the gap” between the Pepe communities on CounterParty and Ethereum.
“We brought a majority of the OG Rare Pepe and Fake Rare artists to Notable Pepes, and we also invited prominent ETH artists to create Notable Pepe cards,” he says. “The response has been incredibly positive and the meme is stronger than ever. People wanted a way to gather and interact with the Pepe community in a way that was familiar and ETH native to them.
At a time when the $PEPE meme coin dominates the charts and conversation, Van Dough’s memetic wisdom feels particularly prescient.
“There’s a saying: ‘There’s a Pepe for everything’,” he concludes. “It’s so true. The Pepe community is one of the most resilient communities; gathering people through bull markets and bear markets, in support of meme culture and art.
