The NFT exhibition at Palazzo Strozzi in Florence
The Palazzo Strozzi in Florence is hosting Let’s Get Digital, a new exhibition presenting NFT works. Here is all you need to know about this journey into the new art of the 21st century.
The NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) which revolutionize the artistic landscape of the 21st century are arriving in Florence too. These digital works of art offer a completely new approach to art, technology and society. From May 18th, 2022, to July 31st, 2022, the Strozzina of the Palazzo Strozzi in the heart of Florence, hosts an exhibition focusing entirely o\n NFT works from international artists.
The exhibition Let’s Get Digital aims to address the general public and those who may not be familiar with this new kind of art. The exhibition offers a complete glossary of digital and NFTs words to get into this new world.
The visitors start their journey into the NFT world with the first room dedicated to one of the most famous NFT artists, the American Mike Winkelmann, known as Beeple. The works exhibited come from two different collections: 2020 Beeple Everydays and Beeple: Spring/Summer Collection 2021. The digital works are presented on large screens in videos with visual effects that allow the public to admire even the smallest details. The works of the artist are full of pop culture references mixed with news topics.
Thanks to a QR code on the screens, the visitors can explore the artist’s website where all his other works are available. The selection highlights the artist’s point of view on modern society, addressing news topics like the environment like with Alive realized in 2021. The artist also explores the theme of an uncertain future and imagines some post-apocalyptic scenarios like Infected culture from the Beeple: Everdays collection of 2020. The Beeple section ends with a larger square screen with lots of the artist’s work in a smaller size, exhibited as a mosaic scrolling on the screen, revealing the complexity of the artist’s work.
The exhibition goes on with the very special project of Krista Kim: Mars House. She created this digital house during the Coronavirus lockdown and the Mars House is actually the first “Metaverse home” to be sold as an NFT. For the exhibition, the digital house is presented in an immersive room where the public can walk around the house, in a completely open space with the mountains and the orange sky of Mars in the background. This work reflects at best her digital zen philosophy which is present is most of her works. The virtual tour of the digital house hypnotizes the visitors thanks to the vivid colors of the house and the quiet music which allow them to appropriate the work.
Moving on to the next room, the visitors will meet Arcadia, a short film realized by Andrés Reisinger in collaboration with the English poetess Arch Hades and the musician RAC. The short film, presented on three different screens is divided in five chapters and questions the condition of the 21st century man. Through this reflection on modern society, the film also pays tribute to various artists and philosophers who influenced the society of the 21st century, like Voltaire, Nietzsche, Sartre, Camus and many others.
The next work is the perfect example of how the NFTs redefine the limits of the digital and the tangible worlds. The work of the American artist Daniel Arsham entitled Eroding and Reforming Bust of Rome (One Year) created in 2021, shows the public the infinite possibilities that technology offers in the world of art. Arsham was inspired by a bust from the Borghese Collection of the Musée du Louvre, and created a digital bust perpetually changing through time, following the natural rhythm of the seasons. Like the masters of the past who used marble to represent eternity, the artist recreated that feeling with technology, paying tribute to those fundamental artists at the same time.
Last but not least, the Italian artists Matteo Milleri, famous DJ, and Alessio de Vecchi present their collaborative project: Anyma. This immersive project offers a unique experience where music and visual art meet each other in the digital world. Anyma is actually composed of five works all realized between 2021 and 2022: Eva 0, Simbiosi, Angel 1, Consciousness and The First Breath. The project is presented in a dark room to emphasize the immersion of the public in the futuristic world created by the artists. Their project questions the link between nature and technology and the fusion between synthetic and organic items.
The exhibition Let’s Get Digital offers a unique and deep journey into the new form of art that NFTs represent, and offers an important reflection on the 21st century society questioning the future of humankind at the same time.
TILL 31 JULY 2022
Palazzo Strozzi
Piazza degli Strozzi, Firenze
Exhibition hours:
Everyday 10am – 8pm – Thursdays until 11 pm
Tickets:
Full price: 11€ – Young: 6€
