Dominican photographer Oveck Reyes has always channeled his creativity across various artistic mediums, starting with music and then branching out to painting and photography.

As a rock n’ roll artist during his years growing up in D.R. and once he moved to NYC, he took the stage at venues worldwide. Later, as a visual artist (for which he is known as just “Oveck”), he saw early success when he picked up his camera and started capturing everyday yet utterly mesmerizing moments.

But in the NFT space specifically, it’s Oveck’s work as a photographer that has captivated audiences, earning him a loyal following of collectors, holders and fans who diligently follow his artistic journey.

One look at his NFT collection, “‘Cuba’ A place that stole my heart,” makes it easy to understand how Oveck steals his fans’ hearts just like Cuba stole his during his time visiting. His photos are full of soft, intentional color palettes that are likened to intricate paintings and are easy to get lost in.

While he does not caption his work, his photography style helps to convey beautiful stories even without words. Oveck focuses on portrait photography and the visual effect of motion blur, which gives the photographs an effervescent, dreamy feel and hypnotizes anyone taking in his work.

Oveck’s first love may have been music, but he’s seemingly left it all on the table for his photography. His unique photography style is perfectly captured in each of his non-fungible tokens, which altogether highlight the irreplaceable nature of his work. Here are a few things to know about the multidisciplinary creator.

He was a musician before finding his voice in photography

Oveck’s journey as a multidisciplinary artist began in the Dominican Republic, where, inspired by his parents' love for The Beatles, he began playing music at an early age. He moved to the U.S. in 1996 and toured through major cities with his bandmates. In 2007, Oveck began experimenting with photography while working in a studio sorting negatives and retouching pictures. His signature style developed when he added motion blur techniques to artistic portraits.

Since then, Oveck has made New York City his home and the foundation for his career. Over the years, he started developing his skills by going on photography walks with fellow creatives and local photographers in the city and sharing his work across Instagram. These walks were not just about photography but also about enjoying fun times with friends and creating a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere. Eventually, those same walks in his new city led him to become a Sony Ambassador in 2016 and prompted more international photography trips worldwide.

As a Sony ambassador, Sony facilitates the opportunity for creatives to travel, use Sony gear, and meet other creatives who are pursuing their passions as well.

He found his way to crypto art in New York City

As he honed his photography skills, Oveck became increasingly fascinated with the intersection of art and technology. This curiosity laid the groundwork for his future exploration of digital art and NFTs, where he would eventually find a new medium to express his creativity. The booming streets of New York City, with their endless stories and dynamic energy, served as the perfect backdrop for Oveck to develop his unique artistic voice. He also said once in an Allships interview that working with NFTs as an internet-art medium helped him stand out among the many talented artists in New York's crowded scene.

He said:

"We all know that as artists living in New York City is not easy to thrive and be able to be seen in a highly populated city of talented artists, this new medium made the communication possible. Now there’s a beautiful community of artists and collectors who support each other and it’s a very exciting thing- all thanks to NFT & cryptoart."

One of Oveck’s biggest non fungible tokens projects is from a Sony travel trip

Oveck’s first international trip with Sony was to Cuba in 2017. Sony partnered with camera store Adorama to send a group of photographers to the country on a mission to capture its beauty, people, and food.

In the project’s description, Oveck shares that, for him, Cuba was more than just classic cars and delicious food:

“[Cuba was…] beautiful decay that felt like it was frozen in time for over half a century.”

A few years after the trip, Oveck began minting his Cuba images, along with captures from more international trips, to the Ethereum blockchain.  “‘Cuba’ A place that stole my heart” is a 30-item photography NFT collection. The one-of-one NFTs were minted in August 2021 as Oveck’s genesis NFT collection and include shots of Cuba’s iconic streetways, as well as heartwarming portraits of Cubans in the thick of their daily life.

Next, in his “Oveck Landscapes” NFT collection, Oveck dropped two mesmerizing one-of-one artworks from his 2019 trip to New Zealand. Each photograph feels otherworldly and detailed enough to register to the eye as a painting, like the mountainscapes at Golden Hour or the starry night sky folding into dawn.

In certain images, like Cuba #04, Oveck’s preferred use of the motion blur effect helped elevate the images to evoke an airy and dreamy feel.

His 2024 NFT project embraces his passion for painting and a popular web3 meme 

“PEPESHROOMY” is one of Oveck’s more recent digital paintings, which dropped in June 2024. The NFT plays into the “Pepe the Frog” Internet meme that has been popular for decades. In web3 subculture, iterating on the Pepe visual has become a creative way for artists to put their touch on a cult classic. Oveck introduced his Pepe on X, saying, “This happy Pepe is filled with good vibes so spread the love.”

Throughout his career, Oveck has maintained this ability to balance tugging at our heartstrings and embedding joy and whimsy into his work, at first with his photography and later with his paintings. Each NFT he mints is assigned a unique identifier, ensuring clear ownership tracking and management on the blockchain.

This knack is fitting, given Oveck started painting in 2020 after an infection in his eye left him half-blind and riddled with anxiety. He turned to the new art form to cope with all he was experiencing but fell in love with it as instantly as he fell in love with photography. His preferred painting style included painting with oils on canvas, and later graduated to digital paintings.

High-quality pictures are essential in Oveck's NFT collections, which capture the emotional connection and nostalgia associated with his work. Whether he’s photographing a city on a photo walk or painting what he feels in his heart, Oveck’s artistry is alive with color, dimension, and just a bit of blur to help challenge your own point of view.