Jisbar & Ben Gulak Collaboration: MIT Graduate and Artist Ben Gulak Reinvents Art Market with NALA

Venturing into the art world wasn’t accidental for Ben. He grew up painting, attending art camps, and even doing a “fine arts abroad” program in high school. Later in life, he started painting as a stress therapy and ended up selling his work through multiple international galleries and presenting at Scope Miami thrice. He continued this passion even while attending MIT, often spending late nights in the Student Art Studio working. He dedicated his academic work and research to exploring how algorithmic models and recommender engines could be applied to the fine art world to help artists. Ben thought this sector had been overlooked in the digital revolution, which ignited his desire to leverage his engineering background and understanding of data to empower artists.

“Art and engineering have always gone hand in hand for me,” Ben reflects. “Designing something new, regardless if it’s a vehicle, a piece of art, or a new program, needs the same vision and creativity. You need to have the ability to see something that doesn’t exist yet.” This drive bore fruit and produced NALA. Initially, NALA was a school project that predicted which galleries an artist’s work would do well in. “I remember emailing Google Forms to every artist I knew, asking them to fill out questionnaires,” he adds. However, the idea continued to evolve, prompting him to form his next business venture and grow it into a platform that connects artists directly with the art lovers (buyers) most likely to love their work, increasing the chances of facilitating a sale.

The purpose of NALA is to break down barriers, enabling artists worldwide to access the global marketplace and connect with their ideal audiences without relying on gallery representation. Ben’s experience in the art world, including having his work featured in prominent galleries and helping Cuban and other emerging-market artists have the same opportunity, highlighted the need for greater accessibility. He realized talented artists deserve direct market access, as the current model often excludes them, working against a true meritocracy.

A recent collaboration that re-established Ben’s merit as an artist, as well as an innovator, was with renowned artist King Saladeen (@kingsaladeen). The two did a joint painting project that merged Ben’s artistic style with Saladeen’s signature approach. The NALA founder explains that this collaboration started with him visiting Saladeen’s Philadelphia studio, where he brought one of his earlier works as a gift.

“The two pieces shared the same color palette and looked fantastic together,” he recalls. “I had admired his work for over a decade, long before I could afford to buy his art. Being able to paint with him and have him involved with NALA has been an incredible personal milestone.” This collaboration reminded Ben of his roots as an artist and underscored the powerful impact of artists working together rather than competing, especially while leading a forward-thinking, art-technology company.

“There has never been a platform built for artists by an artist. Artists are the lifeblood of the industry—without creators, there is no industry, and by working together, we can change things. I’ve devoted the past four years to developing NALA, and now we’re finally starting to see real traction,” Ben says. This vision represents a new chapter in the art world—one driven by artists collaborating and working together to transform the industry for a more inclusive, artist-centered future.

Saladeen praises Ben’s understanding of the art world and his technical background. “Working with Ben on this painting and with NALA as a whole has been an incredible experience,” he says. “I first met Ben almost 10 years ago at one of my shows in NYC and had no idea he painted at the time. When I finally saw his work, I knew we had to collaborate. What he’s doing with NALA for artists is really impressive because it’s rare to see someone with both the artistic talent and the technical or business background tackle the challenges artists face on this kind of scale.”

Interestingly, this collaboration also reconnected Ben with his MIT heritage, where he used two characters—TinMan and C3P0. “I first used these characters in a painting as a gift for my Student Councilor at MIT when I went back to school. I returned as a 28-year-old mature student re-enrolling as a freshman, and David was instrumental in helping me get back into the swing of things. He really was a lifesaver. The droids represented my computer science program, and the algorithms in the background were borrowed from my school notebooks, so the original piece was very personal and is still hanging up on campus,” he says.

Meanwhile, Ollie Cox, the owner of London’s Graffik Gallery, recognized Ben’s potential early on. “I remember getting a cold email from Ben inquiring about the artist submission process for Graffik Gallery. We receive countless emails from artists looking to display their work, and it’s rare that I can say yes. However, Ben’s portfolio really stood out—his ability to blend pop culture with realism in such a unique way captured my attention immediately. His work was a perfect fit alongside the likes of Alec Monopoly, Banksy, and STIK,” Cox recalls.

He adds, “Ben wasn’t only an exceptional painter but also a remarkable talent scout. He would introduce me to artists he had discovered in places like Cuba and Egypt, presenting work I’d never seen before. These fresh perspectives brought a new dynamic to our gallery in London, and the pieces he shared were incredibly well-received.”

Ben Gulak continues to redefine what it means to be a modern-day Renaissance Man. Through NALA, he intends to remain dedicated to empowering artists by creating a transparent, data-driven platform that respects and promotes genuine artistic talent. This vision represents a new chapter in the art world, one driven by artists collaborating to transform the industry for a more inclusive, artist-centered future.