The Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Artte Contemporanea in Italy has made an important addition to its permanent collection, marking a significant milestone in the world of digital art. The museum has acquired its first token non-fungible (NFT) artwork, a provocative piece created and donated by renowned digital artist Beeple.
The artwork, labeled “FTX Board Meeting, Today #5676 11.13.2022 (2023),” unique A mixture of digital and traditional art. It exists as a one of a kind NFT and an oil painting. Rendered in Beeple’s signature photorealistic style, this piece imagines a day in the server room of the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange, FTX.
Caroline Christoph-Bakarjev, the museum’s director, appreciated Beeple’s work, noting that it is an important contribution bringing a 21st-century medium to the museum’s collection. She noted that the artwork combines the digital and physical worlds in a convincing way.
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The piece is not without controversy. It introduces multiple versions of FTX pioneer, Sam Bankman-Fried, in sexually explicit encounters with himself, referring to rumors of sexual escapades among FTX employees. The NFT bears an artist’s note that says “Cluster Board Certified”.
The museum had to censor the photo for sharing it on its YouTube channel. Christoph Bakarjev commented on the art work’s straightforward nature, stating that it references the immature and narcissistic aspects of the digital world. She noted that Beeple’s work calls into question the technology and society that develops in relation to that technology, even as it uses its systems and structures.
This acquisition follows the 2022 exhibition of Beeple’s “Human One (2021)”, a video sculpture that premiered its world premiere at Castello di Rivoli before traveling to M+ in Hong Kong.
Castello di Rivoli is not alone in embracing NFTs. Other museums, including the Buffalo AKG Museum of Art and LACMA in the US, have also added NFTs to their collections.
Earlier this year, the Center Pompidou in France became the first French national museum to acquire sequential art, reflecting the growing acceptance of NFTs in the traditional art world, despite the downturn in the cryptocurrency market.