IRL events in Web3 can be tricky to get right. Whether it’s exorbitant ticket prices or gatherings that feel more like an excuse to throw a party than a way to appreciate and support artists and their work, NFT enthusiasts can have a hard time getting through the off-the-beaten-track. laptop-rich to navigate. So it’s refreshing when an organization focuses on an immersive art-centered gallery experience.
It was with this in mind that the fine arts institution HOFA Gallery (House of Fine Art) unveiled Beyond the Screen, an exhibition celebrating digital and AI art in London’s Mayfair on May 5. HOFA is working with Kreation, an NFT and VR experience platform, through May 26, to give the show’s visitors a more evocative and lived-in feel that effectively captures the essence of the artwork on display.
Last week nft now sat down at the table OSF, the show’s co-curator and artist Alpha Centauri Kid to talk about their new works for the exhibition and their thoughts on the sluggish NFT market. Elio D’Anna, co-founder and CEO of HOFA Gallery, similarly expressed his thoughts on the importance of organizing and hosting physical Web3 events that revolve around the center of the Web3 creative industry: the art itself.
Curator of the show
HOFA Gallery was one of the first in the world to embrace the revolution at the intersection of crypto and art. In 2018, it hosted Qvantum, an exhibition that accepted more than 20 types of cryptocurrencies. At the time, no other gallery accepted crypto as payment for multimillion-dollar works.
OSF — AKA Ovie Faruq — a collector, digital artist, and leader of the Web3 community, also had an early passion for NFTs. This led him to connect with HOFA Gallery and co-curator of the Beyond the Screen exhibition. OSF first became acquainted with the gallery after stumbling upon the September 2021 Portrait of an Era exhibition, which showcased Bored Apes, CryptoPunks, Autoglyphs, and more in bold physical fashion. After getting to know HOFA co-founder Jake Elias, the idea was born to host an event that would be primarily a digital arts event, not just an NFT event.
“There are a lot of NFT events going on right now,” OSF said while speaking to NFT now. “But most of them don’t really celebrate the actual art for the art itself, show it well or don’t focus on the artistic viewers and curation of what has been done. Those events are great for meeting and networking, but there aren’t enough events where the art is showcased in a memorable way.”
OSF is a big believer in the ability of IRL events to serve as a way to increase the appeal of the NFT space to those beyond the walls of Web3. Having people participate in an immersive experience at an exhibition or browse through the details of a 20-foot projection of an artist’s work, he says, is something that makes a huge difference in people’s attitudes toward crypto art.
The work that OSF made for Beyond the Screen, superfan (pictured below), is a departure from the type of pieces he’s been creating over the past year, which largely depict dilapidated cityscapes and the exterior facades of buildings.
“This piece is kind of like the opposite,” OSF said superfan, which shows a crypto-NFT loner in the living room surrounded by Pepe paraphernalia. “I’m sure a lot of people are like that, and maybe even myself to some degree. And I think the satire comes from being a little over the top with all the Pepe themed artwork.
Beyond the screen
As the AI art movement continues to gain inertia and NFTs for digital art become more widespread, the HOFA Gallery team said they wanted to showcase work from some of the most inventive artists in both spaces. Beyond the Screen features 13 works from a roster of nine artists who define these genres, including XCOPY, Orkhan, OSF, Cath Simard, DeeKay, Ivona Tau, Gavin Shapiro, Alpha Centauri Kid, and 25m42.
“Obviously there’s a lot of momentum around AI art,” D’Anna said, speaking to nft now. “AI is just a different medium. Art used to be very strictly sculptures and paintings, and then it evolved into fine art, and then generative art, and now it evolved into AI. It’s a natural progression. And I don’t think it would be very wise for any gallery to underestimate the creative power with which artists explore and push boundaries.”
“For me, it’s a huge opportunity to earn a place in the category of people who stick around all the time.”
OSF on fortitude in the bear market
One of the artists on the show known for pushing boundaries is Alpha Centauri Kid (ACK), a well-known digital artist whose work has been sold at Christie’s, featured in Proof’s Grails drops, and helped kick start bringing the open edition craze of 2022-2023. ACK shows three works for Beyond the Screen, including two versions of The Musea work that auctioned at Christie’s last November for over $100,000, and a rare landscape work.
“I am exhibiting a work from my Broken Keys piano collection, The chosen one”, ACK now said in a correspondence with nft. “This piece is special because landscape scenes are not my traditional medium, so I wanted to challenge myself to create a landscape scene that was all my own, and I think I succeeded.”
Sell down, head up
None of the artists on Beyond the Screen’s list are in any way delusional about the state of the NFT market, whose sales volume figures have plummeted to unprecedented lows since late 2021. But the bear market talk is nothing new for Web3 artists; some even see it as an opportunity to show their true colors.
“Any time you have a recession is actually an opportunity,” OSF underlined about the crypto winter. “If we are in a bull market, it is very difficult to prove [your stripes] because everyone can be seen as an opportunist trying to take advantage of good times. But if you stay in the bear market, people can say, ‘Look, movies were there in the 2022 bear market, 2023, now he’s here in the 2024 bull market.’ For me, it’s a huge opportunity to earn a spot in the category of people who stick around all the time.”
“Ultimately, we can’t time the market or really fight it.”
Alpha centauri child
Another crucial factor pointed out by OSF is that despite the market numbers being so low, several crypto artists have done very well over the past year. Give Riven YunSam Spratt and Alpha Centauri Kid among them.
“The question [of the bear market] is often worrisome, but ultimately we can’t time the market or really fight it,” ACK said. “I’ve learned not to even consider it as a factor in my decision making. I like to live outside the trends and just work on the art that appeals to me and do my best to convey that visually to those who care enough to look at it longer.
Putting aside the difficult market conditions, HOFA and its partners at Kreation have seen a 200 percent increase in the number of new AI and digital art collectors since 2021, according to a press release from the gallery. The NFT industry may be sluggish, but despite those headwinds, interest in creating and collecting digital art continues to grow.
Beyond the Screen will move to HOFA’s Mykonos gallery location once its London run comes to a close. Plus, D’Anna says art lovers can look forward to a separate show they’ll be putting on over the summer with groundbreaking AI artist Refik Anadol.
“It’s going to be an NFT summer,” D’Anna said with a laugh.