König Galerie is currently presenting “The Artist is Online” within Decentraland, a block-chain-based virtual reality platform. On view through April 21 are digital works from artists like Olive Allen, Thomas Webb, Andy Picci, Emma Stern, Manuel Rossner, Ben Elliot, and more.
König is the first to rent and build a commercial gallery showing art on the VR platform. Artist Manuel Rossner was invited to create a 3D model of the gallery’s Berlin home, a former church designed by Werner Düttman and Arno Brandlhuber. And since this is a digital world, Rossner was able to blast a hole in the side of the nave and create a winding pathway up to the exterior tower. Via “The Artist is Online,” Decentraland users are able to view digital works within their natural habitat.
Installation view of “The Artist is Online,” courtesy of Roman Maerz.
Highlights include the work of Gretchen Andrew, who makes use of metadata and search engine optimization (SEO) to place her work on top of Google search results. Her digital art is transformed into a performance, commenting on the algorithms that dominate our world today. “The Artist is Online” also explores the topic of artificial intelligence through the feature of paintings by Ai Da, a humanoid robot and artist. Her work poses a question on the creative abilities of AI, as well as the future of art.
Ai-Da Robot, “Shattered Space: Toeam I Thalassa Doria,” 2020, oil, giclée on canvas, 28 x 28 in, courtesy of the artist and KÖNIG GALERIE.
The virtual exhibition was accompanied by an the gallery’s first NFT auction which took place March 26-31 on Opensea.
Fabian Treiber, “Sudde Craving,” 2020, acrylic, oil pastel, Indian ink on canvas, 39 1/3 x 33 1/2 in, courtesy of the artist and KÖNIG GALERIE.
Manuel Rossner, “SURPRISINGLY SERIES (Blue),” 2021, CNC milling, lacquer, 25 1/2 x 19 x 5 1/4 in, courtesy of the artist and KÖNIG GALERIE.
Trey Abdella, “Dishwasher,” 2020, acrylic, glass, glitter, cotton, chain, oilstick, urethane, epoxy on canvas, 48 x 60 x 2 in, courtesy of the artist and KÖNIG GALERIE.
