The .ART Weekly Market Recap: Playboy Enters NFT Game, Christie's Presents CryptoPunks, and More
1. Playboy is getting into the NFT market with plans to create digital art from its photography
Playboy has partnered with Nifty Gateway to create and promote a series of NFTs. The NFTs will be erotic digital art creations by different artists, the first artist of which being Slimesunday. They will auction the work he developed in partnership with Playboy. The sale will be followed by a Pride-themed collection in June, created by digital artist Blake Kathryn to celebrate the LGBTQ community.
Simesunday x Playboy, courtesy of Slimesunday
2. Spain has blocked the auction of a painting in Madrid, following suggestions it could be a long-lost masterpiece by the Italian Renaissance artist Caravaggio
The starting price for Crowning of Thorns was initially 1,500 euros (£1,300; $1,800). But if it is indeed by Michelangelo Caravaggio, it could be worth up to €150m. The painting is being examined by experts and declared “not for export”.
The Crowning with Thorns, attributed in the online catalog of Ansorena to “circle of José de Ribera.”
3. Sotheby’s and Phillips announce their own digital art sales
In March, Sotheby’s announced its plans to collaborate with the anonymous digital artist Pak. Now, the auction house has stated that Pak will release a new NFT series, “The Fungible Collection,” for a collaboration on April 12 via the digital art platform Nifty Gateway. The event will mark the first time a major, traditional auction house has linked up with Nifty Gateway, which in recent months has sold NFTs by Beeple, Grimes, and others. Meanwhile, Phillips will sell its first NFT by another well-known NFT artist Mad Dog Jones (Michah Dowbak) in an online sale that will run from April 12–23.
4. Acclaimed Artist Urs Fischer to Launch First Collection of NFTs
Fair Warning, the auction app founded by Christie’s former co-chairman Loic Gouzer, is teaming up with Pace Gallery and digital art platform MakersPlace to sell a series of NFTs by the acclaimed artist Urs Fischer.
“If this works,” Gouzer says, “this will really be a validation for the whole NFT sphere.”. Fischer is creating a series of 501 digital artworks that will exist as NFTs. The project is titled “CHAOS.”
Artwork by Urs Fischer, Courtesy Pace Gallery
5. M.I.A. Announces NFT Art Exhibit
M.I.A. is auctioning off a piece of digital art as an (NFT). The still image is titled “GIFTY 1” and it’s part of a series called “NFT GARAGE DANCE.” “GIFTY 1,” which a press release describes as a still image from a GIF collection “bookending her 25-year tenure as a digital artist,” will be available to purchase through Foundation for 24 hours beginning Thursday, April 8 at 4 p.m. Eastern time.
Preview of GIFTY 1 from FOUNDATION
6. Christie’s to Auction Off Nine CryptoPunks NFTs
Christie’s announced its plan to auction a rare set of nine CryptoPunk NFTs for an estimated $7 – $9 million in May. This particular crypto art project was launched by software company Larva Labs in 2017. The nine CryptoPunks being auctioned by Christie’s are part of a series of 10,000 collectibles inspired by London’s infamous punk scene. “Taken together, the set represents both the rarest possible CryptoPunks and highlights from the variety of attributes that are the signature of the project,” Cryptopunk Founders Matt Hall and John Watkinson said in a statement published by the auction house.
Christie’s Nine CryptoPunks lot for May 13, 2021 Sale
For more weekly news, come back next week!
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