Cody of Houston on Ghosts, Collecting Emotion, and Curating from the Heart
Collector and curator Cody of Houston opens up about his hauntingly poetic show Always Believing In Ghosts, how memories shape his curatorial vision, and why the golden age of digital art is now. An honest look at emotion-driven collecting in Web3.
Curator of “Always Believing In Ghosts”
Digital Art Collector · Founder of Phantom City Gallery
About Cody of Houston
Cody of Houston is a passionate digital art collector and the founder of Phantom City Gallery—a curatorial project that highlights emerging and established voices in Web3 art. Known for his intuitive, emotionally driven collecting style, Cody brings together artists whose work explores memory, atmosphere, and identity. In 2024, he launched Year One, a retrospective collection of standout pieces from Phantom City’s first year, showcasing the diversity, risk, and soul of digital art. His latest curatorial effort, Always Believing In Ghosts, continues that exploration through themes of presence, trace, and emotional resonance.
Interview for ACCOMPARTS Digital Art Auction House
A/ Let’s start with the title — “Always Believing In Ghosts.” It’s haunting, poetic, and open to interpretation. What was the spark behind this concept, and how did it evolve into a full auction?
The concept began while thinking about the belief of ghosts and the supernatural in general. Most people I know and have met in life will tell you they have witnessed some sort of supernatural phenomena, but I have always been a skeptic. So, I looked into the history of it all and realized that it may not be ghosts that were haunting people. It's their memories, their collective past that won't let them go. Ancestor worship and fear of death are what bred the idea of ghosts. With it all being deeply cultural.
So, the title came from there. People are “Always Believing In Ghosts”. Whether they exist or not is up for debate, but we're all haunted by something.
I wanted the vibe of the show to be about moving forward and letting our personal “ghosts” move on.
The film “Rebecca” by Alfred Hitchcock was also an inspiration for the vibe, as it features the story of a woman who marries a widower and is “haunted” by his past wife, whose belongings are still everywhere in their home. A ghost story without any actual ghosts and the past just lingering.
I wanted the vibe of the show to be about moving forward and letting our personal “ghosts” move on.
A/ The collection feels deeply atmospheric — full of ambiguity, memory, and emotional weight. What united these specific artists for you? Was there something about their work that echoed this sense of “ghost presence”?
I knew I wanted a diverse group for the show. Artists who could convey what haunts them in different ways. I think we achieved that as all the artists used different mediums for their works. Pixel, AI, analog glitch, physical crochet nitting, digital painting, pencil drawing and even a work using old computer software. Everyone of these wonderful artists puts themselves into their work and their styles are uniquely theirs. What unites them is their ability to make you want to get lost in their worlds. Having viewed most of each artists previous work, I knew they would be able to capture the concept I was trying to convey.
I knew I wanted a diverse group for the show.
A/ You’re a collector, can you share how your journey into digital art began? What drew you in — and what keeps you collecting?
My journey into digital art started on sites such as Tumblr and later Instagram. I followed artists such as @Solyaev and others who showed me what was possible with digital art. Coming full circle, I got the opportunity last year to buy a collab piece by Solyaev and Elena Lazutina.
Around 2021, I discovered crypto and NFTs and got excited by the idea of being able to buy and own digital art. After a few really rough attempts at buying on Opensea/Ethereum, I found Cardano, which was a much easier blockchain experience. On sites like Kreate.Art, I discovered many wonderful independent artists such as @rogerin_art, which really helped form my taste in collecting.
Around early 2024, the @tezvendsmachine was dropping a collection on Tezos by @cybermystic (Marcelo Pinel), who was and is one of my favorite artists. So I bought some XTZ and took the plunge for the first time. My collecting on Tezos started slow, but quickly took off as I discovered a whole world of amazing, talented artists. Suddenly, Objkt and Tezos had become home and has been ever since.
What keeps me collecting is that feeling you get when you find a piece that just speaks to your soul and makes you feel as if it was created just for you. The first time I really felt that way, funny enough, was while bidding on the @suisoichi piece, “The Wizard's Nightmare” in an Accompart's exhibition. That work during that time really solidified in my mind that I wanted to be a life long collector.
What keeps me collecting is that feeling you get when you find a piece that just speaks to your soul and makes you feel as if it was created just for you.
The Wizard's NightmareA/ Your project, Phantom City Gallery, has become known for showcasing artists whose work blends the emotional and the abstract. What qualities tend to draw you to an artwork or an artist? What connects the works in your collection, even if they’re visually different?
I am drawn to an artwork typically because it has made me feel something substantial. Whether that be joy, sadness, excitement or nostalgia. I enjoy collecting from artists who deeply care about their work and are unabashedly themselves. Though, sometimes, it's just about the fun of collecting a work and being able to tell the artist directly how much you love it.
I created Phantom City Gallery with the intent to showcase the “visually spectacular” from a diversity of artists across the globe. It started as just a title for my collection, but has grown into a curatorial effort that I am proud of.
Sometimes, it's just about the fun of collecting a work and being able to tell the artist directly how much you love it.
A/ You’ve curated over 50 pieces in “Year One” — your Phantom City retrospective. How did that experience shape your thinking for “Always Believing In Ghosts”? Did you notice recurring moods, patterns, or obsessions in your collecting journey?
Year One was really what got me into curating. I liked the process of weaving a story through and with my collection. Being a comic book fan, “Year One” arcs are prominent, so that was kind of the inspiration. To show how anybody like me could come to Tezos and build up this amazing collection of art in a year. It actually astounds me sometimes just how much talent there truly is in this space. It feels like the golden age of digital art in a way.
Having that experience definitely helped when I was asked to curate this auction for Accompart's. I pretty much instantly knew which artists I wanted for the show.
There were definitely recurring patterns in both curations. Such as the diversity of the artists and mediums. My tastes have changed drastically since I started collecting on Tezos. I've become more open to works I may once not have understood or appreciated.
My tastes have changed drastically since I started collecting on Tezos.
A/ As the digital art space grows, curation becomes more and more important. How do you see your role—as a collector and a curator—within the Web3 ecosystem? And what responsibilities come with it?
I feel my role is to be a champion of the digital arts. It's my responsibility to be passionate and genuine about the art and artists that I'm curating and collecting from. I also think that it is important to show all art forms and curate artists from all walks of life. I believe I'm in the right place, because this digital ecosystem we have truly feels like it is for everyone and that's a beautiful thing.
I feel my role is to be a champion of the digital arts.
Collector and curator ‘Always Believing In Ghosts’ Digital Art Auction - Cody of Houston // @CodyofHouston
