damien hirst, team lab, & others land at new gyre gallery NFT expo

gyre gallery presents its latest lineup of artists

Tokyo’s Gyre Gallery is launching its latest exhibition, ‘Artistic Experiments in the Age of Hyper-Technological Reproduction ー What Will NFTs Change About Art?’ Running from March 24 to May 21, 2023, the event spotlights the nature of NFTs and the many ways in which their recent boom could alter the art scene as we know it. An NFT, short for Non-Fungible Token, is a unique cryptographic asset driven by blockchain technology; it cannot be replicated or traded and features a clear record of its owner.

From Damien Hirst to teamLab and Rafaël Rozendaal, the exhibition gathers an impressive pool of artists and introduces their NFTs in three chapters: Sharing, Aura of the Simulacra, and Transnational Power. Each theme corresponds to the fundamental prerequisites for any artwork: Ownership/Contract, Creation, and Exhibition.

‘Center’ (2022) © Rafaël Rozendaal | image courtesy the artist

tracing the history of nfts & their impact on contemporary art

More specifically, the exhibition at Gyre Gallery (see more here) traces the history of NFTs – starting from 2014, with the first ever ‘digital token’ created by New York artists Jennifer and Kevin McCoy, called ‘Quantum.’ But it wasn’t until a few years back, sometime between 2017 and 2021, that this blockchain-driven phenomenon truly gained momentum before momentarily collapsing with the boom of cryptocurrencies (Ethereum, Bitcoin, etc.).

Furthermore, as its title suggests, the show links back to the 20th century when reproduction technology began spreading like wildfire. Philosopher Walter Benjamin, a leading thinker of this era, began questioning the reproduction craze and how artworks could start losing their ‘uniqueness’ or ‘one-time-only’ value.

‘NFT / Eternal Mass’ © Mariko Mori (2022) | courtesy the artist

‘Are NFTs nothing more than turning art into a speculative financial instrument? Or, could it destroy the existing rules of society and art, bring about the liberation of expression, and create a new history? This online and offline exhibition and related publications raise questions about new systems of meaning and value created by NFTs and examine and redefine the role played by contemporary artists in an unprecedented information environment. It explores the impact of virtual space on the reality of our lives and the psyche and culture shaped by it,’ reflects Gyre Gallery.

Besides Damien Hirst, Rafaël Rozendaal, and teamLab, exhibited artists include Lu Yang, Robert Alice, Rhea Myers, Shunsuke Takawo, Sol LeWitt (1928-2007), Seth Siegelaub (1941-2013), Mariko Mori, Masaki Fujihata, Taihei Shii, and Tetsutaro Kamatani.

‘DOKU Heaven’ (2022) © Lu Yang | image courtesy the artist