The Gagosian will host a Takashi Murakami art exhibition from May 11th to September 25th featuring two top NFT projects: RTFKT’s Clone X and the Murakami.Flowers. And to give this exhibition a Web3 twist, users can employ metaverse technologies to “augment” their experience.
The exhibition titled “An Arrow Through History” will take place at three locations: two in New York City and one in Los Angeles. At the 976 Madison Avenue location in NYC, gallery visitors will find sculptures and hand-drawn portraits of the Clone X NFT collection. Close by at the 980 Madison Avenue building, art purveyors can browse through paintings of the Murakami.Flowers collection. Some of the artwork comes from Murakami’s initial designs for the NFT series.
In Los Angeles, the showing will include many of Murakami’s paintings unrelated to non-fungible tokens.
Takashi Murakami, a Japanese artist who collaborated with RFTKT for its blue-chip Clone X collection, said he makes no distinction between digital and analog art. Because he is a contemporary artist, the only context he needs is whether his art will be part of a cognitive revolution.
RTFKT had a hand in the metaverse viewing elements for the exhibition. Viewers will be able to take part in an “immersive” experience through the Gagosian website. They can also do so using computers or virtual reality headsets. Those visiting the exhibitions can wear Snapchat Lenses to view augmented reality animations of the artwork and outsides of the buildings.
And for those looking to buy an art piece, the Gagosian accepts Bitcoin, Ether, and USD Coin as payment methods.
NFTs in Museums a Growing Trend
While some believe non-fungible tokens belong just on the blockchain, many museums think otherwise. As Rarity Sniper has reported, museums that showcase NFT art are sprouting up worldwide. And even some old-timey museums are beginning to recognize the importance of digital sales.
For instance, SuperRare, a popular NFT art platform, announced a few weeks ago that it would open up an IRL NFT gallery in New York City. It has even decided on a first collection: Visions From Remembered Futures, featuring 15 artists.
Four months back, an NFT museum opened in Seattle. This museum, the owners said, would work to celebrate early NFT art and educate visitors about the importance of art and the blockchain. Also planned were celebrations of local artists.
And four Italian museums have banded together to “immortalize” the works of art greats on the blockchain. Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci are two of the art greats included in the initiative.
Time will tell if the Gagosian Murakami Exhibition is a success, but it might be worth checking out, given the names behind this project.