GM and welcome back to our biweekly newsletter! There have been several exciting events recently. JoiceLoo’s incredible works were displayed at the grand opening of Beeple Studios in Charleston, South Carolina! She was the only Solana-native artist exhibited at this Eth-centric event. Viewers were surrounded by the large-scale, immersive screens to viscerally experience Joice’s works. Look out for another drop in Kindling, Joice’s main series displayed at Beeple Studios, in April!
Exchange Art hosted the gallery at the Claynosaurz event during Outer Edge LA. We were thrilled to introduce digital fine art to the Claynosaurz community. We showcased artwork by Hyblinxx, John Lê, and Scum, and we were pleased to exhibit the debut piece of Ricardo Cavolo on Solana! The live auctions were a massive success.
Patrick Amadon takes a stand
Patrick Amadon, who released his first piece on Solana earlier this month, has conviction in his work. He displayed the work, No Rioters, during Hong Kong Art Week on a large digital billboard on a central Hong Kong department store. The piece shows a moving surveillance camera, but under close scrutiny, viewers can see the names and ages of jailed activists flash quickly. The artist shared with us that once the government realized the content and meaning of the piece, they removed the work from view, censoring it.
He then pulled his work from a Sotheby’s sale of Glitch art due to the lack of representation of female and non-binary artists - there were only men. In response to the protest, Sotheby’s cancelled the sale, stating that they would relaunch the sale with a more diverse group of artists at a later date.
Legal precedent on NFTs and digital asset ownership is being set
In 2014, Kevin McCoy minted the first ever NFT, Quantum. In 2021, during the NFT boom, the artist re-minted it on Ethereum. The original blockchain it was minted on, Namecoin, required the artist to re-register the token every 200-250 days. If the user does not do so, others can claim the record of ownership. Free Holdings claimed that McCoy failed to update the token and in 2021, they claimed ownership. After McCoy re-minted Quantum on Ethereum and sold it at Sotheby’s for $1.5M, Free Holdings sued McCoy and Sotheby’s. The judge dismissed the case, saying that it had no merit, strengthening the rights of artists.
A Country Kind of Silence
We are delighted to share that film photographer Ian Howorth launched his Solana genesis series, A Country Kind of Silence. These medium format photographs are a destabilizing, uneasy interpretation of British eccentricities and identity through dilapidated traces of humanity in the urban landscape. This series is adapted from his recently published photo book consisting of over 80 images. In order to maintain the integrity of the book’s sequencing, and to show the connections between images, Ian is releasing these works in sets of 3.
Pollock painting found?
Bulgarian authorities announced that they found a previously unknown Jackson Pollock painting in the capital city, Sofia, in a police raid. Although no images of the artwork have been shared, the authorities say that there is an inscription to American actress Lauren Bacall on the verso. It is dated September 16, 1949 – the actress’s 25th birthday. The director of the International Foundation for Art Research (IFAR) and the director of the Pollock-Krasner House have not been contacted about the authenticity of the painting.
We displayed an attributed Pollock painting in the inaugural exhibition in our gallery in Southampton. The Evolution of Painting considered the lineage of abstraction from an attributed Jackson Pollock painting to the rise of digital abstract art. ADHD, Lisanne Haack, Jack Kaido, and Archie Morley responded to Pollock through their artistic language.
Code Canvas
Bruce from Studio Yorktown was the second featured artist on Code Canvas, with Scenes from a Train Window successfully minted last week! The scenes shifted from daytime to nighttime, snowy to sunny, colorful to muted, and urban to rural. Some featured trains, bridges, and Toriis, while others did not. Which unique scene did you mint?
JT Liss x PenguLove NFT NYC exhibition
During NFT NYC, JT Liss is organizing an exhibition celebrating art on Solana in partnership with the PenguLove Art Collective. 50 artists will display one work, which will be listed via primary or secondary with Exchange Art. The exhibition will take place during the evening of Thursday, April 13 and virtually via Portals. Please RSVP for admission to the event.
