Defining Questions for the Tokenized Digital Art Market (Part III): The Role of Star Artists and Mega Galleries

The Impact of Mega Galleries

Trevor Paglen, PRELUDES #191 (2022). Photo: OpenSea.

The initial wave of NFT adoption in 2021 brought star power to the blockchain as renowned mega galleries ventured into tokenized digital art for the first time. Most influential was Pace Gallery, which introduced Pace Verso, its dedicated NFT division. Collaborating with platforms like ArtBlocks and PROOF, Pace released collections by artists such as Trevor Paglen, A.A. Murakami, and John Gerrard, infusing Ethereum’s cypherpunk ethos with the sophistication of the Chelsea gallery district. These releases quickly sold out, cementing Pace Verso as a key cultural node that found product market fit within the Web3 art ecosystem.

The output from Pace Verso has since slowed considerably, and other mega galleries have been notably cautious in their forays into the space. Gagosian hosted a companion exhibition to Urs Fischer’s CHAOS NFT series in 2022, but David Zwirner and Hauser & Wirth have yet to enter the fold.

A renewed commitment from one or more of these powerhouse galleries could provide the spark necessary to reinvigorate the sector. Should Pace Verso reemerge with fresh initiatives, or if another of the mega galleries decides to bring one of their rostered artists on chain, the ripple effects could draw in new collectors, rekindle enthusiasm and provoke a flurry of cultural activity around tokenized art.

A Second Wave of Star Artists?

Damien Hirst, Great Expectations 8,978 (2021). Photo: OpenSea.

The last cryptocurrency bull run saw a number of high-profile artists enter the NFT space, with results that varied as widely as their creative styles. Damien Hirst’s The Currency (2021) became a benchmark for conceptual blockchain projects, yoking the aesthetics of his iconic spot paintings to a driving question regarding the intrinsic value of digital art. The collection sold out and entitled its holders an airdrop from the Hirst NFT series Great Expectations, inspired by the art he created for Drake’s album Certified Lover Boy.

Meanwhile, Marina Abramović ventured into Web3 with The Hero 25 FPS (2022), a project that she conceptualized as a blockchain performance shaped by user engagement with frames from her past video work, The Hero (2001). Despite her star status, Abramović’s collection, launched on Tezos, struggled to sell.

Other major contemporary artists, such as Takashi Murakami, Shepard Fairey and Pussy Riot have also tested the waters over the last couple of years. Murakami.Flowers (2022) are a 10,161 piece profile picture collection of his iconic smiley-face flowers, while Fairey and Pussy Riot’s Putin’s Ashes, a 953-piece edition, was created to coincide with the installation of the same name at Jeffrey Deitch gallery in LA in 2023, with proceeds going to frontline Ukrainian troops.

Takashi Murakami, Murakami.Flower #2037 (2022). Photo: OpenSea.

The price charts of these collections are all currently trending lower. A defining question for tokenized digital art will be whether or not these collections find a renewed wave of interest and become collector’s items reflective of a defining a moment in blockchain and art history, or whether they are forgotten as niche experiments of a bygone era.

Just as crucial is whether new art world stars will release NFT collections in light of these results. Anticipation now centers on which major artist – if any – will be next to release an NFT collection. Jeff Koons, for instance, has long teased the release of his Moon Phases project. If the total market capitalization of the cryptocurrency market continues to rise as it has over Q4 of this year, it is likely that there will be a renewed public interest in digital assets and that the incentives for artists with widespread recognition to come out with new tokenized art will be palpable. 

Branded Collaborations Reach New Audiences

If a fresh cohort of star artists decides to launch digital art collections, it is possible that one way it could happen is through collaborations with high-profile luxury or consumer brands. In 2023, Rolls-Royce partnered with Dubai-based artist Sacha Jafri to create a bespoke, hand-painted Phantom car series, each paired with NFTs, while Japanese cosmetics company Shiseido enlisted a handful of generative artists to enhance its brand identity.

McDonald’s teases it’s collaboration with Doodles on X prior to making the official announcement. Photo: X.

Perhaps signaling what may be the start of things to come in 2025, McDonald’s recently announced a collaboration with Doodles, an NFT series and entertainment creation of Scott Martin, aka Burnt Toast. McCafé coffee cups will feature a limited-time Doodles design for the holiday season. It marks the latest in a string of Doodles collaborations with brands such as Adidas and Arizona Iced Tea and shows just how far tokenized art and collectibles are able to reach when they tap into the audiences of the mass consumer brands.

Attitude Shift in America

Shepard Fairey and Pussy Riot, Putin’s Ashes (2023). Image: Objkt.

The recent change in government after the U.S. elections has also catalyzed a surge in the cryptocurrency markets, and the wealth generated in digital assets under friendlier American policies can be expected to find its way into digital art and culture.

President Trump has promised to establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve for the nation and promote Bitcoin mining as a cornerstone of economic growth. He also vowed to replace SEC Chair Gary Gensler, whose regulatory crackdowns have been blatantly antagonistic toward the crypto industry for years.

In the weeks since the election Bitcoin has surged to new all-time highs, and the NFT sector has followed suit, with its total market capitalization climbing from approximately $5 billion to around $6.5 billion, according to NFTPriceFloor. If the immediate market response is any indication, a crypto-friendly Washington promises to be bullish for digital assets broadly speaking, including digital art.

Famed digital artist XCOPY weighed in on the shifting dynamics with a characteristically sardonic remark on X: “Absolutely nobody is going to rotate profits into time-stamped digital culture.” His quip underscores a strong living hypothesis: as capital flows into the sector, tokenized digital art is poised to benefit from its unique position at the intersection of art, technology, and cryptoeconomics. And where the capital flows, the mega galleries and star artists will likely be soon to follow.

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