Doodles co-founder Jordan Castro and his wife, artist Margo Castro, relocated to Dubai from Miami this year and it wasn’t long before their Dubai Creek villa and its artworks were written up in AD Middle East. The creatively minded couple, according to the publication, is “at the vanguard of the Middle East’s next generation of art collectors.” They met at an NFT dinner in Dubai. He’s a crypto guy whose NFT company launched in 2021 with a collection of 10,000 pieces by artist Scott Martin (a.k.a. Burnt Toast) and has since evolved into a media platform. She’s also into NFTs but a relatively new voice in the art scene, here by way of fashion. Together, they’ve built a collection around color, figuration and, as Margo puts it, “deviously kawaii themes.”
What might be most interesting about the couple’s art collection isn’t the preponderance of pink or the names in their portfolio (e.g., Damien Hirst) but rather that it started with work bought from friends. Margo and Jordan’s first acquisition was a piece by Atlanta muralist Greg Mike. From there, they collected early sketches by Martin, and then their collection grew to include digital and traditional contemporary works by a wide range of emerging and established artists, such as Felix Treadwell (two pieces acquired at Phillips and Christie’s), Bibi Lei (acquired at Ross + Kramer Gallery) and Mariam Lamei (acquired during Art Dubai 2024).
SEE ALSO: Craig Robins On Collecting Baldessari
Another notable detail is that the Castro’s collection is built around not just consensus but easy consensus. Like collectors Nacho Polo and Robert Onuska, Margo and Jordan found that they had a shared vision that drew them both to artworks with bright hues, playful subjects and the kind of energy that toes a trifold line between street art, cartoons and fine art. Now displayed in their home in Dubai Creek’s Deira neighborhood, their growing collection has a name: Pinkum Collection. We recently caught up with Jordan and Margo Castro to discuss how they collect, their thoughts on web3 art and the artists they think you should know.
First, tell me about your art collection—what was its genesis and are there any themes that have revealed themselves over time?
MARGO: The theme and style of our art, which we refer to as Pinkum Collection, is ever-evolving as Jordan and I change and grow as people. However, there are a couple of throughlines. In the dining areas, all of the pieces have quite prominent eyes, including Bibi Lei’s Bloom XI 2023, Scott Martin’s TBD 2023 and Felix Treadwell’s London Girl 2021 and Hip Commuter 2021. The floating eyes are a signature style of Scott Martin (a.k.a. Burnt Toast) and Doodles. It’s almost like all pieces are looking at each other. We also love emphasizing color in the art throughout our home—if I could, every wall would have a colorful piece on it! We don’t shy away from color and consider ourselves a bit maximalist, in addition to our love for pink, kawaii elements and playful aesthetics.
The concept for our art and home came from the idea of “Pinkum” that we created. The joyful, playful connotation of the word resonates with us as a couple. In every single piece we own you can find at least a little bit of a “Pinkum” element in the color, tone, or attitude of the work. This is the direction we are going in right now, but we do not define ourselves by this particular style. Pinkum Collection is constantly in flux, as are our aesthetics as a couple and individuals.
During our recent trip to Copenhagen, we visited the showroom of Danish designer, Helle Mardahl, who attended the same university in London as myself (University of the Arts). The designer calls her showroom a “living candy store” and says that her work is “influenced by nostalgic memories from childhood” which is very much in line with the Pinkum personality.
As much as we enjoy our colorful home in Dubai we would like to share Pinkum with a broader audience as well. I’ve always been interested in how art is displayed in public spaces and redefining the experience of how we view art and how spaces with art influence us in return. Much like how sculpture gardens are open to everyone, I would like to see this same concept brought to restaurants, coffee shops, malls and more in Dubai.
I know your collection includes digital art—there’s so much of it out there. How are you navigating that? And how are you displaying your acquisitions?
JORDAN: We try not to draw a heavy distinction between the two when it comes to our collecting. We feel the distinction is important right now to raise awareness of the digital art movement, which has been around for decades, but as it gains ubiquity it’ll simply be called art. We like to have our digital artwork printed and installed. It’s easier for us, and the quality of printing/paper is good for most static digital art in our collection. We have animated works that we have displayed on screens as well.
MARGO: We have a shared background in web3 which helps us navigate the digital art space. Jordan’s past endeavors as product lead for CryptoKitties and as co-founder of Doodles have cemented his position as one of the leading voices in the web3 space. I helped build the creative ecosystem of Palm NFT Studio and Palm network, acting as a community liaison to bring leading voices and artists into the project. This past experience helps inform how we collect digital art. One of our NFTs that hangs next to our stairs is actually Damien Hirst’s The Currency, which was created through Palm NFT Studio. As Jordan mentioned, some of our most notable digital artwork hangs on our wall, but most are kept in our digital wallets. We display our Founder CryptoKitties in our foyer because of the personal connection and sentimental value of the art, given Jordan’s involvement with the project and the fact that they are among the first ERC-721 NFTs to ever exist.
Where precisely do NFTs fit into your collecting journey?
JORDAN: We wouldn’t buy digital art if it wasn’t backed by NFT technology. Before the advent of NFTs, we would not feel comfortable owning digital art. NFT tech makes it easy for us to secure the art, track the provenance of potential acquisitions and prove that we own it.
It’s important to understand that NFTs are backed by technology that enables ownership of digital assets. It also comes with a few more superpowers that bode well for art collectors.
Margo and I both have backgrounds in web3 and NFTs so it is a very natural part of our collection. Because of how close we were to the technical innovation, we will continue to collect early examples of digital art as NFTs from artists we like. We’ve curated some of the earliest NFTs ever minted, such as three Founder CryptoKitties by the artist Guile Twardowski, Hackatao, XCOPY, and early A.I. art from Berk.
Doodles has this super-defined aesthetic. How much does the art you gravitate toward reflect that specific aesthetic?
JORDAN: I don’t think it plays too much of a role in our aesthetic, actually. I’m not an artist at Doodles, but there could be a subconscious element that influences it, hence our collection being full of colorful and cute art. Even CryptoKitties could be considered in that “cute art” realm.
MARGO: I have been a fan of “cute” aesthetics for as long as I can remember. I used to love (and still do!) characters such as Miffy, Moomins, Totoro, Diddl, just to name a few. Doodles is no doubt my favorite NFT project, style-wise. Long before Doodles, I liked Chinese painter Liu Ye, who is known for his bright-hued paintings of childlike female figures. His favorite cartoon character is Miffy as well, which was inspired by works done by Piet Mondrian and Yoshimoto Nara. When I lived in Hong Kong I had the chance to see incredible pieces by both Nara and Liu Ye. That definitely influenced me and inspired me to develop my taste further within the art world.
Margo, tell me about what you’re doing at the intersection of art and fashion. Has that impacted what you’re collecting?
MARGO: I have a background in fashion and attended London College of Fashion at the University of the Arts London, and that background does play a role in what we collect. Since my early days at fashion uni, art and fashion have been closely interwoven. One of my earliest memories from that time is Christopher Bailey’s 2016 collection for Burberry inspired by legendary sculptor Henry Moore. Part of studying fashion was doing visual research and going to museums and galleries in London. Uni projects were inspired by Lynda Bengis’ sculptures, Katherina Grosse and Ryo Ikeda, to name a few.
How big of a role does consensus play in your collecting? Do you have to agree before something comes into your home?
JORDAN: We’re lucky that we do have similar tastes when it comes to art, so it’s not often that we disagree on adding a piece to our home. Margo is usually the one to source and propose we collect a certain piece and I trust her artistic sense when it comes to what would fit in our space. She spends the majority of her time researching and reading about art market news so she is well-informed on what’s going on. When we travel, art museums and galleries are a big part of our trips, and we often come across something we both love. I’m the one who spends more time on digital art. I love older collections and learning about a piece’s historical meaning in relation to the web3 space at large. We’re confident in each other’s tastes so it’s rare that either of us have a viscerally negative reaction to a piece of artwork the other loves.
And finally, what artists are you currently excited about potentially adding to your collection and why?
MARGO: For emerging talent, we’re very excited about Vojtech Kovarik. He is a rising international star from the Czech Republic. His large-scale paintings are mesmerizing—they really speak to my soul. I recently visited his exhibition at Museum Kampa in Prague. As someone who is from the Czech Republic, I think it is my duty to support Czech talent.
Up-and-coming Chinese painter Ji Xin is also someone we are keeping an eye on. His creations were born out of the search for classical, innocent, delicate, and mysterious complexities. His paintings are pure, feminine, and very much in line with my taste.
Hayv Kahraman is another emerging artist we love. She is an American-Iraqi artist whose work is very mystical. Since we are now based full-time in the Middle East, collecting more within that region is something we want to focus on. This philosophy helped inform our recent acquisition from Leila Heller Gallery—a piece by Maryam Lamei Harvani, who is an Iranian female artist. I am intrigued by the intensity of Harvani’s work.
When it comes to more established artists, Liu Ye in particular is on my blue chip wishlist. He has been one of my favorite artists for a long time, among others like Sanyu and Marie Laurencin.