Bonhams SuperRare collaboration a first of its kind

Bonhams is the latest big auction house to enter the world of crypto art as it partners with SuperRare to hold an online sale of works by digital artists who were the pioneers in what was to become the NFT crypto art movement. 

In an article today by Panna Munyal for the NationalNews.com, the early crypto art movement was explored. Also, the article covered how the Bonham/SuperRare sale, from June 21 to 30, will be the first curated collaboration between an auction house and a digital art marketplace. 

Nima Sagharchi, head of digital art at Bonhams, said: 

“This will also be the first auction that explores the originators of the crypto art movement – those who were minting NFTs before they were in the global spotlight. These artists have had a lasting impact on the landscape of digital art and will go down in art history as pioneers in the field,” 

One of the digital artists, whose works are in the sale, goes by the name of Coldie. His piece Proof of Work – Genesis is one of the artists’s first tokens and is estimated to sell at between $70,000 to $100,000. The work is inspired by the California goldrush and the current rush to mine crypto. 

“Back in the early days of crypto art, a small group of forward-thinking digital artists from around the world began to tokenise art. All of us shared a vision of what digital art would become once the rest of the world found us. Until then, we focused on the art, grew a vibrant community, and inspired each other to experiment and push forward the possibilities for [this art form],” said Coldie. 

XCOPY is a London-based artist. His contribution to the sale is The Death of Cash (Sorry Anon). This piece of work is a play on the decline of fiat currency and is estimated to sell at between $150,000 to $200,000. 

One further artist whose work will be on display is Alotta Money. This artist changes classic works of art and old masters in some way, perhaps by trivialising, and some might say desecrating the original art work. 

An Rong, art & cultural programme director at SuperRare said: 

“We decided to go back to the roots of crypto art and have picked a theme honouring the originators of this art movement. The CryptOGs sale will celebrate the innovators who helped develop the CryptoArt community from the early years,” 

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.