Hey art squad, have you still not got your head round NFTs? Those non-fungibles are stubborn little tokens and there’s no sign of them escaping from headlines just yet. But don’t you worry because you’ve arrived just in time for our NFT Happy Hour! Once a week we keep you updated with the top NFT headlines from the past week. So sit back, relax and pour yourself a drink while we inform you about all of the most important NFT news.
Sotheby’s Offers The First Cryptographically-Secured Painting Ever
Yep, it’s a mouthful! On 29 June, Sotheby’s will become the first auction house to offer a physical work of art that has been cryptographically secured, leveraging a tailor-made new technology that can inextricably link the physical to the digital. Pablo Picasso’s Le peintre et son modèle (1964) will be offered as part of a marquee auction in London on 29 June together with a unique NFT, derived from the physical artwork itself and able to be compared and matched to the painting at any place or time in the future. This marks the debut of start-up MIRA Imaging and their Looking Glass scanner, which uses a cutting-edge proprietary array microscope, powerful AI and advanced robotics to scan every micron of the surface of a work of art and create a unique encrypted signature. We’re interested to see how this fares!
Jay-Z To Host NFT Auction
JAY-Z has collaborated with artist Derrick Adams to create an NFT to mark the 25th anniversary of his debut album Reasonable Doubt. The artwork is titled Heir to the Throne and is currently being auctioned via Sotheby’s and will be up for grabs until July 2 with some of the proceeds going to The Shawn Carter Foundation.
Bonhams Hosts First Collab Between Digital Art Platform And Auction House
There’s a lot of auction house X NFT collaborations this week. Next up is Bonhams! The auction house is teaming up with SuperRare to host a sale entitled CryptOGs: The Pioneers of NFT Art, which is running online until June 30 and is also on display IRL in the auction house’s London galleries.
Beeple Launches NFT Platform
Beeple will always be best-known for his record-breaking NFT sale at Christie’s which literally turned the art world upside down. He’s now gone one step further by launching his own NFT platform. According to its website, WENEW is the premier curator and provisioner of iconic moments, immortalising culture’s more consequential moments on the blockchain, forever linking celebrated icons and their achievements with the collectors who admire them the most. The platform is launching with a collaboration between Andy Murray and Wimbledon on July 2.
NFT Trade Show Opens In NYC
I mean, it was only a matter of time, and that time is now! Art fairs are getting the NFT treatment! Cube Art Fair has just opened the first NFT art fair in NYC. A true fair for 2021, it is taking place across billboards in the Big Apple until June 27, pretty cool, huh?!
Text Lizzy Vartanian
