DART 2121- Crypto Art is Now
Covering the first-ever museum exhibition about crypto art in Italy - at DART Permanente Museum, Milan
Curated by DART in collaboration with Alessandro Brunello, Alan Tonetti e Serena Tabacchi, this exhibition is on until 6 February 2022.
Crypto Art is Now marks the entrance of NFTs into an Italian museum for the first time - the DART (Dynamic Art Museum) of the Permanente Museum in Milan. This is in fact the very first time that crypto art is presented to the public in a recognised Italian institution. Not only should this give credit to this new form of art, which has recently caught much attention worldwide, but having placed its NFTs alongside masterpieces by Italian traditional artists is also an interesting statement. On the floor above the crypto art exhibition one can in fact visit a display of paintings by Caravaggio and Guercino, to name a few.
2121 Crypto Art is Now, exhibition shot
By placing these new blockchain-based art pieces here, the idea is that of positioning these creators of the future (as suggested by the title of the show, 2121) at the same level as that of the great masters from the past. Especially in Italy, where the presence of the history is strongly heartfelt everywhere, and contemporary art is often intertwined with it, placing this avant-garde type of art within a cultural institution is certainly a meaningful move.
The exhibition presents the works of 70 of the most significant artists of today’s digital scene, including works that are exclusively digital as well as the digitisation of some physical works through the blockchain and NFT systems.
2121 Crypto Art is Now, exhibition shot
The extended body of works encompass creations by blue-chip artists - already established in the field of digital art - the pioneers of the NFTs - as well as young promising artists.
Among the icons of the digital and crypto space are the CryptoPunks, 10,000 uniquely generated pixelated characters, each of them with their own distinctive traits, launched on the Ethereum blockchain by LarvaLabs in 2017; Bored Ape Yacht Club, 10,000 unique digital collectibles representing ridiculous humanised monkeys, each with their own peculiarities, living on the Ethereum blockchain; Rare Pepe, a cartoon frog originally created by Matt Furie, which has inspired endless memes on the internet, such as the Rare Pepe’s cards collection, one of the first art projects that was released on the Bitcoin blockchain; London-based artist XCOPY, a leader in the crypto art space, highly regarded by the community, and many more.
CryptoPunks, CryptoPunk 5949 / Bored Ape Yacht Club 3749
Rare Pepe, HomerPepe / XCOPY, Congrats!
Whilst not a comprehensive article featuring everyone present in the show, I’d like to highlight the pieces of four artists, whose work I truly admire: Pak, Kevin Abosch, Dangiuz and Alotta Money.
Pak, Metarift
Anonymous creator (or team of creators) Pak is at the forefront of digital and crypto art, having been exploring the potential of technologies intersected with art for over two decades. His work often revolves around concepts of value, scarcity and ownership, and is known for its minimalist, clean and geometric shapes and programmatic image generation.
Kevin Abosch, Sun Signals / Dangiuz, Beyond the Pillars of Hercules and The Crib
Kevin Abosch is an Irish conceptual artist whose practise spans from AI, blockchain, and installation to photography, sculpture and film. His work raises existential questions and engages with sociological dilemmas. His art has been exhibited worldwide, including museums of the likes of The National Museum of China, The Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, and The National Gallery of Ireland, to name a few.
Dangiuz (pseudonym of Leopoldo D’Angelo) is an Italian visual artist, graphic designer and art director. His artistic style relates to Sci-Fi and Cyberpunk culture. He creates mesmerising visions where elements from the future merge with mythology, capturing retro-futuristic themes. Since 2021 he is one of the most prolific digital artists on SuperRare.
Alotta Money, 1789
Alotta Money is a French artist, known as one of the pioneers of the Crypto Art community since he was one of the first artists to tokenise his work. Humorous and provocative, his creations often revisit old masterpieces through a contemporary lens, exploring a concoction of anarchic, cyberdelic and subversive themes.
Needless to say the show features many more extraordinary talents and I apologise for not having covered them all in this short post.
Definitely do pay a visit if you’re in Milan before 6 February 2022!
Our founder, Dagmar Carnevale Lavezzoli, at the exhibition
Artists:
KEVIN ABOSH . AEFORIA . LUCAS AGUIRRE . ALOTTA MONEY . ALESSANDRO BAVARI . BAKA ARTS . BEEPLE . BILLELIS . BORED APE YACHT CLUB . ANDREA BONACETO . GARY CARTLIDGE . ANDREA CHIAMPO . FEDERICO CLAPIS . COLDIE . SOFIA CRESPO . CRYPTOPUNKS . ETIENE CRAUSS . MATTIA CUTTINI . DANGIUZ . ALESSIO DE VECCHI . DIEWITHTHEMOSTLIKES . LUCA DONNO . DOTPIGEON . JESSE DRAXLER . IDIL DURSUN . JAN HAKON ERICHSEN . ESKALATOR . FRENETIK VOID . FABIO GIAMPIETRO . GIANT SWAN . MATTIA GIORDANO . GMUNK . RAF GRASSETTI . GREBENSHYO . HACKATAO . HEXERACT . MAD MARACA . MISS AL SIMPSON . NATE HILL . JANNE . TREVOR JONES . MATT KANE . RAPHAEL LACOSTE . GIUSEPPE LO SCHIAVO . LUSHSUX . DANIEL MARTIN . TIM MAXWELL . GIOVANNI MOTTA . NEUROCOLOR . PAK . SANTIAGO PANI . DAVIDE PETRAROLI . RARE PEPE . OVECK REYES . ROBNESS . ANNIBALE SICONOLFI . SINCLAIR . SIX N. FIVE . SKYGOLPE . FABIANO SPEZIARI . THOMAS STOKES III . TOOMUCHLAG . HENRIK ULDALEN . PINDAR VAN ARMAN . VEXX . JONATHAN WOLFE . XCOPY . XSULLO . ZHUK . SARAH ZUCKER . ONDREJ ZUNKA