16 Apr 2024/6 min/Bharat Krymo of 6529 Capital
Interview with Bharat Krymo of 6529 Capital, Part 1
Bharat Krymo of 6529 Capital lays out his personal collecting criteria: memetic charge, cultural timing, and the storytelling an artist builds around the work.
A short, dense clip in which Bharat Krymo of 6529 Capital walks MLow through how he collects. He opens by drawing a firm line between himself as an individual collector and the fund, then describes his wallet structure: Notable Pepes in the hot wallet, his 1/1 collection and 6529 meme cards in the cold wallet, and a vault holding a long tail of 1/1s dating back to his first purchases in 2018.
His criteria come in order. First-order questions: does the piece grab him, is it memetic, how culturally relevant is it to the moment, does the aesthetic match his taste, and how well does the artist handle the storytelling around the work, what he calls social construction. Tail-order factors come after: who holds the other pieces and how the collection has performed over time. On memes he makes a three-part case for Notable Pepes and the 6529 meme cards: they give visibility to artists who would not otherwise get recognition, they distribute in an orderly way across the network, and they are tied to the culture of the week or day they were made.
The clip closes with a tour of favorite artists by era: XCOPY, Coldie, and Hackatao from his 2018 and 2019 collecting; Trevor Jones, Fewocious, and Miss Al Simpson from 2020 and 2021; then DK Motion, Grant Yun, ACK, Other World, and PJO from the 2021 wave, plus photographers Cath Simard and Tai Lecky. MLow notes he has already interviewed Other World and Coldie from that list.
What this episode teaches
- Separate yourself from the fund
Bharat opens by insisting his answers are his perspective as an individual collector, not 6529 Capital's. Anyone speaking for both an institution and a personal practice should draw that line before opining.
- Order your criteria
First-order: personal connection, memetic charge, cultural relevance, taste fit, and the artist's storytelling. Tail-order: who else holds the collection and how it has performed. Most collectors invert this and start with the tail.
- Memetic connection keeps digital art alive
In a digital medium, art has to have a memetic connection to culture and its time period to stay relevant. This is a preservation argument, not just a taste preference.
- Split wallets by function
Hot wallet for liquid, memetic pieces like Notable Pepes; cold wallet and vault for the 1/1 collection and long-term holdings. Structure follows intent.
The conversation, topic by topic
Individual versus fund
Bharat starts by separating himself as a collector from what 6529 Capital does as a fund, and everything that follows is framed as his own perspective.
Wallet tour
MLow had looked through Bharat's wallet before the interview and noticed Notable Pepes and meme cards. Bharat confirms the layout: notables in the hot wallet, 1/1s and meme cards in cold storage, and a vault with a long tail of 1/1 pieces going back to 2018, when he first bought 1/1 art.
Collecting criteria, in order
Does the piece grab him, is it memetic, how culturally relevant is it, does the aesthetic match his taste, and how does the artist handle storytelling. Ancillary factors, like who holds the other pieces and how the collection has done over time, are tail-order effects. MLow notes AC The Collector gave his own criteria in an earlier episode.
Why memes are a strong art form
Bharat's triangulation for Notable Pepes (from VVD) and the 6529 meme cards: visibility for under-recognized artists, an orderly distribution mechanism across the network, and cultural relevance tied to the week or day each card was crafted.
Favorite artists by era
2018 and 2019: XCOPY, Coldie, Hackatao. 2020 and 2021: Trevor Jones, Fewocious, Miss Al Simpson. The 2021 grail wave: DK Motion (he bought two pieces very early), Grant Yun, ACK, Other World, PJO, plus photographers Cath Simard and Tai Lecky. He values a patented style, good social construction, and work that tells a story.
The show's compounding network
MLow points out he has interviewed several artists on Bharat's list, including Other World and Coldie, and has watched their careers grow over the past few years.
In their words
“I want to give you my perspective, more so than the fund's perspective.”
Bharat Krymo“Does the art piece actually grab me? Does it have a connection to me? Is it memetic?”
Bharat Krymo“When I see well constructed storytelling around why artists bring art to the market, that usually is a good sign to me.”
Bharat Krymo“In a digital medium, in order for art to stay relevant, it has to have some memetic connection to culture and to that time period.”
Bharat KrymoCite this conversation
Bharat Krymo of 6529 Capital in conversation with MLow, "Interview with Bharat Krymo of 6529 Capital, Part 1," The MLow Show, 16 Apr 2024. https://show.mlow.xyz/e/2024-04-16-interview-with-bharat-krymo-of-6529-capital-part-1.html. Quoted from a machine transcript.
Quotations come from machine transcripts. Check wording against the audio before republishing.