Speculative NFT trading is trending and turbo-charged! In our last two issues, we covered the explosion of NFT Collectible projects from historical ones that launched a few years ago which have recently been rediscovered, to new projects that have been inspired by the older ones and have taken a life on their own. Today, we focus on the current artists that have helped propel digital art to the forefront and have brought global attention to this new asset class.
1. Beeple ($142,819,219.71) 6. Trevor Jones ($21,225,249.41)
2. PAK ($52,009,486.24) 7. Mad Dog Jones ($18,451,470.24)
3. XCOPY ($30,306,842.43) 8. Jose_delbo ($13,944,543.67)
4. Hackatao (($27,752,305.71) 9. Slimesunday ($13,726,054.53)
5. Fewocious ($22,630,366.55) 10. Videodrome ($12,276,322.87)
Note: Artist rankings by sales are changing constantly. The list featured above is derived from Cryptoart.io which calculates sales based on the top art platforms and auction houses. However, keep in mind that the resale of artists’ works can impact their place on the list and new releases everyday also impact the top grossing NFT artists.
From 18-year-old Fewocious to 87-year-old Jose Delbo, artists of all ages are connecting with art lovers and speculators across the globe. The NFT community is not only growing, but there has never been so much interest in art as there is in this present time. Let’s explore some of these talented creators!
Trevor Jones
“Bitcoin Angel” by Trevor Jones
Although Trevor Jones ranks #6 at the time of this writing, we would like to highlight him first, as he is the inspiration behind NFT Art Source. On July 23, 2020, when most of us were hunkering at home, I heard about the sale of a digital piece of art ‘Picasso’s Bull’ by Trevor Jones that sold for $55,555.00 This was the first time I had heard about NFTs and I was totally caught off guard that a digital image could fetch such an exorbitant price. This is when I dove in and went down the rabbit hole. The more I read, the more fascinated I became and a few months later, my son and I launched NFT Art Source. We wanted to inspire others and bring attention to this new and growing art space. Therefore, Trevor Jones is very dear to us!
Jones’ primary body of work began on canvas, but after purchasing his first bitcoin in 2017, Jones became intrigued by the power of crypto-technology and its intersection with art. Currently, Trevor Jones is working on a six-month project of large-scale paintings and NFTs which will be available at the end of this year. He is also working on a collaboration with Ice Cube as well as a drop on the launch of the new Binance NFT marketplace in November. Jones’ most popular painting “The Bitcoin Angel” sold for $188,888 and his open digital edition of this same piece was the largest (4158) open edition sale of any NFT previously and is now only available on the secondary market.
Jones is changing the way one experiences artwork. He is an essential figure in exposing NFTs to the masses, while also opening doors for creators and inspiring us to join the NFT community!
Beeple
“Everydays: The First 5000 Days” by Beeple
Mike Winkelmann, better known by his moniker, Beeple became famous after his legendary piece, “Everydays: The First 5000 Days” sold for a staggering sum of $69,346,250. Winkelmann was one of the originators of the “everyday” movement in 3D graphics, whereby he created a picture every day from start to finish and posted it online for 5000 days or 13+ years. Countless artists have since risen to the challenge and output a creation a day following in his footsteps. His pieces are known for their comical, political and social commentary slant, while using pop culture figures as references.
Winkelmann works on a variety of digital artwork including short films, VJ loops, and VR/AR work as well as concert visuals for the likes of Justin Bieber, One Direction, Katy Perry, Eminem, deadmau5 and many more. His clients also run the gamut from Louis Vuitton to Apple. Recently he has launched his own curated platform WENEW which auctions off historic and iconic moments in sports, politics, history, music, art, and fashion.
Pak
“Metarift” by Pak
Pak is an anonymous creator who has been at the forefront of digital art for a couple of decades. He is the founder of Undream and the creator of Archillect, a curator of visual media. Pak has pushed the boundaries on what is imaginable, exposing and teaching new mechanisms of communication and discovery through their unique creations. He has sold 7,843 art pieces to date while his “Metarift” piece sold for an incredible sum of over $900,000!
XCOPY
“Death Dip” by XCOPY
XCOPY is a London based crypto artist who has been a pioneer in the crypto art community. He was on SuperRare from its launch and has released countless NFTs on many platforms, making him a legendary figure in the space. He continues to innovate and push the space forward with his distorted visual loops of flashing imagery.
XCOPY was selling his original creations for a few hundred dollars two years ago and now his art has been reselling for hundreds of thousands. His highest recorded sale was for “Death Dip” at $1,812,660. The piece features a black screen with a white skull and rapidly shifts through different angles. Surrounding blue and green squares quickly change position, giving the illusion of a full-body skeleton moving in circles across the screen.
Hackatao
“Hack” emphasizes the pleasure of going under the skin and discovering what lays underneath, while “Tao” references the Yin and Yang of the creative balance of the artistic duo Sergio Scalet and Nadia Squarci of Milan, Italy. The dynamic team formed in 2007 experimenting with all sorts of mediums and expressing themselves in both physical and digital creations. Hackatao’s art pieces often engage intellectual challenges and incorporate issues of society, environment, humanity and crypto, as well as references to art history, symbolism, and psychology.
They have sold over 2,235 artworks and their highest priced work sold for $723,583.10
FEWOCiOUS
“Hurt Feelings” by FEWOCiOUS
Victor Langlois aka FEWOCiOUS is an incredibly talented 18-year-old artist who has exploded onto the art scene over the past year. Victor has emerged as one of the hottest young stars of the digital art movement. In March of 2021, FEWOCiOUS sold more than $4 million worth of NFTs on Nifty Gateway and continues to explore new avenues to meet the demand of his super fans from custom sneakers to clothing to Christie’s. His highest priced work “Hurt Feelings” sold August 6, 2021 on SuperRare for $903,892.19.
We look forward to continuing our in-depth coverage of new projects, artists, collections, and everything crypto!
Stay Curious!
~NFT Art Source