As many begin to explore how NFTs might change business as usual in the art world, the UCCA Lab, a Beijing-based division of the UCCA Center for Contemporary Art focused on collaborations with brands, will present what it billed as “the world’s first major institutional crypto-art exhibition” this spring. Opening March 26, the exhibition titled “Virtual Niche — Have you ever seen memes in the mirror?” will feature work by over 60 artists, including Beeple, Robert Alice, DJ deadmau5, Mario Klingemann, Robbie Barrat, Pak, Fewocious, and Mad Dog Jones.
The show is curated by BlockCreateArt CEO Sun Bohan and co-hosted by Digital Finance Group and Winkrypto. AndArt Agency served as an adviser for the show.
Elliot Safra, partner at AndArt Agency, said in a statement, “As generational tastes shift, we felt it important to support an exhibition that showcases a demographic’s interest that has had little previous institutional examination. We hope this exhibition will help propel the dialogue surrounding crypto-art from the fringes into the mainstream.”
[Read an essay on how to look at NFTs.]
According to a release, the exhibition “seeks to develop the wider public’s understanding of crypto-art and to contextualize the works within an institutional setting.” It comes on the heels of Beeple’s record-setting $6.6 million sale at the online marketplace Nifty Gateway for an NFT artwork titled CROSSROADS. Bidding for a Beeple work being auctioned at Christie’s is currently at $3.5 million.
The forthcoming UCCA is not the only crypto-related news in recent days. Damien Hirst revealed on Monday that he would sell a series of prints and is willing to accept cryptocurrency from buyers. “I love the crypto world and I am happy and proud to put my belief into Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) and accept them for this drop,” the artist wrote on Instagram. Meanwhile, the pop star Grimes recently sold $6 million worth of NFT art on Nifty Gateway this week.
