In collaboration with auction house Christie’s, artist Beeple has put up for sale his artwork “Human One” which represents a physical 3D sculpture accompanied by a non-fungible token (NFT). The latter sold for nearly $29 million, and would represent one of the largest transactions for an NFT.
“Human One”, a physical and digital work
Artist Mike Winkelmann, better known as Beeple, has just completed his first ever hybrid work combining physical and digital art: Human One.
On its Twitter account, the famous auction house Christie’s revealed that the work sold for nearly $29 million.
It is interesting to note that the sculpture had been estimated for $15 million by the company. In fact, the winning bidder was Ryan Zurrer, a former partner in Olaf Carlson-Wee’s Polychain Capital.
The work is a 2 meter high sculpture of a person in a spacesuit moving through different landscapes, even climates.
For the artist, the sculpture represents “the first portrait of a human born in the metaverse”. In addition, the artist specifies that he intends to make his work evolve over time, in particular by changing the character’s landscapes.
In addition to this physical sculpture, the work is also accompanied by a non-fungible token (NFT) whose ownership is issued on the Ethereum blockchain.
Beeple, a famous artist in the world of NFTs
The development of NFTs has accelerated since the legendary sale of the digital work “EVERYDAYS: THE FIRST 5000 DAYS”.
Indeed, Beeple sold its NFT, through Christie’s, for $69.3 million. A record for this type of sale.
This digital work is an image measuring 21,069 pixels wide and 21,069 pixels long, the result of a collage of 5,000 works by the artist.
The adventure began on May 1, 2007, and the artist undertook to create a new work of art every day of his life. He has not missed a day in almost 14 years.
The NFT sector is beginning to create a significant place in the art world, and there is no doubt that it will become more important in the future.
