First modification: 26/03/2021 – 22:32
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New York (AFP)
A gallery entirely dedicated to digital works, which are marketed as NFTs or non-expendable pieces, opened this week in New York, presenting itself as the first physical exhibition space in the world dedicated to these virtual assets that attract more and more collectors.
The day after the opening, on Thursday, an exhibition dedicated to NFTs (non-fungible tokens) also started in Shanghai.
Immaterial by nature, each work is presented on a giant screen or by projection, in a space located two steps from Union Square in Manhattan.
Each day the works of five artists will be exhibited, with a daily rotation for 60 days for a total of 300 different creators, until May 25.
The NFT allows any virtual object – an image, a photo, an animation, a video or a musical piece – to be associated with a certificate of authenticity that makes it a unique piece.
This certificate is theoretically inviolable and cannot be duplicated. It was created using blockchain technology, which serves as the basis for cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin.
The popularity of NFTs in the last six months has transformed the digital collection market, to the point of attracting billions of dollars of investment.
Each work presented in the gallery will then be auctioned, explained Ed Zipco, co-founder and director of the Superchief galleries, which have exhibited digital works since 2016.
And why physically present virtual works? “The goal of a gallery is to show how the work looks in person, how the artist wanted it to look,” described the gallery owner, with a large 4K resolution screen. “The people who collect [estas obras] he wants to live with them. “
About 70% of the artists that will be featured in the space are not, in origin, digital creators, according to Ed Zipco. On the contrary, most are sculptors, painters or photographers.
“More and more well-known artists from museums are getting involved,” said the gallery owner.
“It is so new that it is still difficult for people to understand,” he acknowledged. “It is technology, so there is always a bit of learning, of pedagogy to do (…) But soon it will become something totally normal.”
Digital art has been around for several decades, but the advent of the NFT has reassured collectors about the risk of copying. It is possible to duplicate a digital work, but the NFT certificate with which it is sold is unforgeable.
On March 11, a digital work by American artist Beeple, titled “Everydays: The First 5000 Days,” sold for $ 69.3 million at Christie’s.
© 2021 AFP
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