LA’s first NFT art gallery debuts at LA Art Show

LA Art Show kicked off at the Convention Center Thursday night, and there’s something different hitting theaters this year. Alongside the many traditional galleries showcasing everything from photography to sculpture is Vellum LA, which will be the city’s first brick and mortar gallery to deal with NFT (non-fungible token) art during the its opening on Melrose Avenue this fall.

This is the first NFT art exhibition in the history of the fair; in fact, it is the first live NFT showcase at any trade show. In partnership with NFT Marketplace SuperRare and Los Angeles-based media and design firm StandardVision, Vellum presents a series of digital works by women and non-binary artists on digital “canvas” developed specifically to display the NFT art. Want to pick up a coin you see at the show? You’d better pack ETH cryptocurrency.

In case everything is still a little confusing and you don’t yet know your Bitcoin from your blockchain, Vellum LA curator Sinziana Velicescu explained to us the next big thing in the art world.

Talk to me like I’m stupid: what is NFT art and how is it different from other types of art? And how is it the same?

NFTs are digital tokens that can be used to represent ownership of unique, blockchain-certified items. An NFT is, in essence, a collectible digital asset, which has value as a form of cryptocurrency and as a form of art or culture.

In the context of art, NFTs provide unique proof of ownership of the work of art by the artist as the original owner of the work. One of the benefits of selling NFT, as opposed to more “traditional” art market transactions, is the automated resale royalties accruing to the artist. Any art can basically be turned into NFT as long as it is authenticated by the blockchain.

So far, there has been a lot of talk about NFT artwork being bought and sold (often for huge sums of money), but there has been less coverage of exhibitions for people who aren’t necessarily investors but just love it. look at art. How can galleries appeal to the average art lover?

The important thing to understand here is that the culture around NFTs mostly revolves around the idea that woks can only live online in the Metaverse. Many believe that there is no need for a physical IRL representation in NFT space. We believe that these realities can coexist as the boundaries between digital and reality blur every day.

In terms of interest to art lovers, there is an educational opportunity here to help art collectors and galleries understand how NFTs work and how they can benefit artists and collectors – that is basically what we do with Vellum LA’s presence at the LA art show.

“Imagine having works of art in your home that can change over hours, days, months, or even years. “

How is NFT art exhibited? Did you have to make a number of innovations?

There is currently no standard for how NFT art should be exhibited in the physical world. We focus on digital art and have partnered with StandardVision who have designed a museum-grade LED canvas called Luma Canvas that is significantly more vibrant than your average TV screen and can support various picture formats in apart from the traditional HD format. There is also a software component that can display programmable artwork. This is something that really interests us because it really makes a case for work to be visible in a physical space. Imagine having works of art in your home that can change over hours, days, months, or even years.

Ok, let’s say I’m someone interested in investing in NFT art, what am I looking for? How to determine the value?

I would seek out artists whose work has something to say, whose work is innovative in space, and whose work serves as a reflection of the current state of our existence. We believe that now that the initial hype has calmed down somewhat and prices have more or less stabilized, artists who continue to produce compelling works in space will continue to shine.

How did your career lead you to NFT curation?

My experience is in curating site specific artwork on large scale media facade installations in public / private spaces; Over the past ten years, I have championed digital artists in various movements, from generative and code-based art to interactive, AI, crypto art, etc. I have always recognized these artists as doing important and interesting work, and I am delighted that many of them are finally getting the recognition they deserve.

How did the creation of LA’s first NFT gallery go? What are the challenges? What are the benefits?

It was an interesting trip. The biggest challenge has been around the limitations that exist within online marketplaces for creating works that do not fall within the spectrum of a traditional video file or jpg photo, as well as limitations on the size of the works of. art imposed by the NFT online space.

Displaying artwork on digital screens requires a lot of information about which compressions and resolutions work best for each screen size, as well as considerations about animation speed, viewing distance. , etc. It was also a learning experience for some of the artists who were used to seeing their work on computer screens. Once the artwork is displayed on a large, high-resolution canvas, every detail of the artwork is scrutinized. We believe it is important to create work that will stand the test of time in the context of rapidly evolving technology.

We want Vellum LA to lend itself to a truly unique immersive viewing experience, with the ability to invite collaborations, exhibitions, and drops across multiple mediums (music, film, dance, art, etc.) worlds brought together under one roof while pushing the boundaries of art as we know it.

Stay on top of the latest LA news, food and culture. Sign up for our newsletters today.