Quick take:
- The collection featured art inspired by Vincent Van Gogh’s self-portraits.
- More than 150 emerging artists contributed to the NFT collection.
- Physical versions of the NFT will be made available for sale.
Leading online art gallery and artist network, Saatchi Art, dropped its its first NFT collection called The Other Avatars on Jan 24. The entire collection was snapped up in 20 minutes.
The collection features 2500 non-generative art avatars inspired by Vincent Van Gogh’s self-portraits.
The Other Avatars was created to reflect the breadth and diversity of Saatchi Art’s network of artists. 154 emerging artists from over 35 countries selected by curator Monty Preston contributed to the design of the avatars. Each participating artist has designed 10 to 20 avatars of Van Gogh.
The NFT sale was done in conjunction with Leaf Group, a consumer interest company that owns Saatchi Art.
Since its inception in 2006, Saatchi Art has featured millions of original paintings, drawings, sculptures and photographs from over 100,000 emerging artists from 110 countries for sale. Saatchi Art’s entry into the NFT space is its next step in supporting emerging artists.
While the collection is now trading on the secondary market, physical versions of the NFT will also be available for sale on Saatchi Art through the artists’ portfolios in February. 65% of the proceeds from the NFT sale, royalty earned from secondary sales and sale of the physical art will go towards the artists.
The gallery is exploring opportunities for subsequent NFT collections including curated projects, one-off artist drops and more. The gallery is also exploring how it can bring additional utility to token holders.
“We’re so pleased with the outcome of our first NFT project. It was an incredible process working with artists, both new and experienced in this space,” says Wayne Chang, General Manager of Saatchi Art. “Following the success of ‘The Other Avatars,’ we’re currently working on new NFT projects for 2022. The team is excited to present new drops to our buyers with innovative features and themes that stay true to Saatchi Art’s mission of democratizing the art world.”
Part of the success of the Saatchi’s Art’s NFT sale could perhaps be attributed to its name, which came from Charles Saatchi, the gallery’s previous owner known for founding Saatchi & Saatchi, the world’s biggest advertising agency in the ‘80s.
Saatchi Art has been embroiled in a legal dispute with Charles Saatchi over who owns the right to the Saatchi name.
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