Mumbai – 08 March, 2022 – As NFTs continue to gain momentum in the creative universe, Karthikeyan Ramachandran – Founder of Xtrathin Design Pvt. Ltd. – announces the NFT launch of a unique collection of paintings titled ‘Futuristic Antique’ that were created in collaboration with his late father – famous artist K N Ramachandran. This, Ramachandran explains, is the first collaboration with his legendary father and is themed around the concept of looking at today, as a matter of the past, from a futuristic point of view. He has partnered with Token Runway – India’s first invite-only NFT Project – for his very first art NFT drop on auction from 8th March (2000 Hrs IST) to 11th March (2000 Hrs IST).
An artist, art curator and a designer par excellence, Karthik wears many hats. Son of legendary artist Late K.N. Ramachandran, Karthik has been at the helm of some of the most known advertising campaigns in India including Netflix, Amazon and Goa Tourism. He is also the founder of the art gallery ‘False Ceiling’ and the art festival ‘Appa Art Fest’. His paintings blend the future with the past, culture with context and real with the imaginary.
In Futuristic Antique, the past, present and future are the key motifs at play. The series is a composition of artworks called ‘Zebra Force’ and ‘Safeguarding the tradition’. While the ‘Zebra Force,’ with pop culture elements, is an unconventional, artistic interpretation of how design and aesthetics save the world, ‘Safeguarding the Tradition’ tells a visual story of the future taking care of the present, which in itself is the carrier of the past; like Science taking care of Faith.
Talking about the NFT drop, Karthikeyan Ramachandran says, “For an artist, showcasing their work for the world to see and appreciate is the biggest joy. Traditionally, the medium has been physical and that’s what people relied on – there were traditional galleries and curators dealing with buyers B2B. However, considering the future that we are living in, with crypto doing its peacock dance, I don’t see why any artist would want to shy away from this new medium that facilitates showcasing art to newly evolved digital art markets. Markets that have been created by people who understand and see things others are not seeing, and presenting it to equally smart audiences/art patrons. I think we are yet to explore the depth of these possibilities. As of now, we are only skimming the surface of this digital trench.”
On his association with Token Runway, Ramachandran adds, “An artist’s strength largely lies in how best their manager can communicate and connect with the right collector, and I look at the NFTs as the perfect medium to reach out to the right kind of audience. This is the first digital art drop between me & my dad. Since we started collaborating very late in his life (also now that he is late) these are also part of the last few digital drops between us. Limited life, limited artworks! There will be no more of these, ever. And it had to be done right so I’m happy to have associated with Token Runway for my first and very special NFT project.”
Vinay Agarwal, Co-founder, Token Runway said, “Using blockchain and NFTs is an emerging phenomenon and it makes one realize how powerful true ownership is. It means a lot to a truly loyal set of audience to be able to actually own their asset – and that could essentially be anything digital like music, games, paintings, or memorabilia. This concept really opened the door to bring a bunch of real-world things into a digital universe and transform them into digital assets with a greater value stemming from its rarity. It also allows the owner to trade these assets which makes the entire idea very lucrative for artists and fans.”
“What Karthikeyan and his father have created – this beautiful series of paintings – is nothing short of iconic. And it’s exciting to be working with artists who are futuristic and want to see how they can amplify who they are through us. We’re thrilled to be the partner that helps deepen relationships within the artist community through the launch of Karthikeyan’s first NFT.”
K N Ramachandran was an art maestro during an age when local banner painters competed with each other to make the biggest, most awe-inspiring film banners. With picturesque landscapes and charismatic portraits of people, Ramachandran’s art was popular in the film industry, however, he eventually became a modern artist who exhibited in galleries and thus after winning lifetime achievement awards and many other honours,, ingrained the love and passion for art in his son. As Karthikeyan stepped into the realm of creativity, he took inspiration from his father and went on to create artistic solutions beyond the usual.
Xtrathin Design Pvt. Ltd – his brainchild – is a production and design house that helps clients find innovative solutions to age-old communication challenges, and push the boundaries of design and art to deliver remarkable campaigns. The company boasts of an illustrious clientele that includes brands like UTV, Amazon, Netflix, Incredible India, GTDC, Zee, Dharma, to name a few.
Karthikeyan has also worked for streaming platforms for projects like Mirzapur, Made in Heaven, Comicstaan and also for movies such as Kai Po Che, The Lunchbox, Shahid, ABCD, Ghanchakkar, Joker among others.
He now plans to further release another interesting art collection with Token Runway called ‘Leaf and let leaf’, however, details of this project remain undisclosed.
About Token Runway:
Token Runway is India’s first invite-only premium NFT service provider that connects established and emerging creators with collectors while providing them a platform to create NFTs. Token Runway was established with the belief that every artist has the potential to create work that stands out and must be presented with the opportunity to earn proportionate rewards for their craft.
Priyank Mahajan and Vinay Agarwal, who collectively have over three decades of in-depth understanding of the entertainment and media realms, are the founders of Token Runway. After leading many successful businesses, they are here to bring their understanding of connecting creators to fans and gauging what each of them aspires to achieve.
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