2021 was no doubt the year of crypto art, seeing an explosion of interest and transformation in the NFT space. From digital native artists to the fine art world, creatives debuted innovative projects and collections that challenged our perception of art and what’s possible in the crypto space. To mark the end of 2021, we asked leaders in the NFT arena to reflect on their top drops of the year.
Micol Ap, founder of VerticalCrypto Art, a media hub and studio dedicated to crypto art, shares below a few favorites.
Ringers by Dmitri Cherniak.
Dmitri Cherniak
Ringers
ArtBlocks
January
“Ringers” by Dmitri Cherniak is a generative art project released on ArtBlocks. Each output is derived from a unique transaction hash and generated in Javascript in the browser. The collection of 1000 was minted at 0.1ETH in January, and the current price for one of these artworks is 38ETH.
FEWO WORLD Open Edition by FEWOCiOUS x RTFKT.
FEWOCiOUS X RTFKT STUDIOS
FEWO WORLD
Nifty Gateway
March
This is the first collaboration between Fewocious & RTFKT studios on a digital sneaker collection and was released on Nifty Gateway. The collection saw three different editions of digital sneakers, each open edition paired with a physical set of sneakers. This was the first digi-physi collection and collaboration with (now) two of the biggest names in the metaverse from art and fashion.
Synth Poems by DEAFBEEF.
DEAFBEEF
Synth Poems
March
This project by DEAFBEEF began in 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Synth Poems are short generative music pieces, inspired by the sound of analog synthesizers. They are stored completely on-chain. Each piece is generated at the time of minting from a random hash value, influencing musical elements including tempo, timbre, pitch, and time signature.
Secret Artwork (Content) by Rhea Myers.
Rhea Meyers
Secret Artwork (Content)
Sotheby’s
June
This artwork was part of the first Sotheby’s Natively Digital Sale which took place in June, curated by artist and blockchain connoisseur Robert Alice. Rhea Myers is one of the most important, yet overlooked, artists in the crypto art movement. Myers was one of the earliest creatives to adopt blockchain technology as an instrument for artistic creation.
Lifeforms by Sarah Friend.
Sarah Friend
Lifeforms
September
Sarah Friend is an artist and software developer specializing in blockchain and peer-to-peer web. Her works and projects are all experimental in nature, pushing the possibilities of what blockchain and art can achieve together. Lifeforms are NFT-based entities and like any living thing, lifeforms need regular care in order to thrive.
Botto, Asymmetrical Liberation, Series 3, 2021.
Botto
October
Botto is a decentralized artist, generated via AI and algorithms that produce art based on community feedback. Botto was developed in collaboration with an international group of engineers and artists, one of them being the AI pioneer artist Mario Klingemann. Every week the Botto community decides, What is art? And, What is not? From that, the autonomous artist creates an artwork that is released for auction. Proceeds of the auction go back to the community holders of the $BOTTO token.
