Bitcoin’s Presence in the Art Industries Is Growing

Bitcoin has recently seen greater exploration and adoption from the art industries. In recent weeks, a high-profile UK art gallery has announced that it will accept cryptocurrencies, a painting has been purchased by a Hong Kong collector using bitcoin, and multiple art exhibits have sought to visually represent virtual currency.

Dadiani Fine Art, a Contemporary Art Gallery Located in the UK, Will Offer Buyers the Opportunity to Purchase Art Using Bitcoin

Bitcoin has been making headlines in the arts industries in recent weeks, with many high profile representatives of the arts either accepting bitcoin as a means of payment or producing works that explore cryptocurrency conceptually.

Dadiani Fine Art, a contemporary art gallery located in the UK, announced this week that it will offer buyers the opportunity to purchase art using bitcoin, ethereum, ethereum classic, ripple, litecoin, or dash. Cryptocurrency payments will be accepted at the upcoming Dandiani exhibition, ‘The Noise’, which will showcase sculptures made from racing memorabilia.

The gallery’s owner, Eleesa Dadiani, hopes that accepting cryptocurrency payments will open up the arts industry to “a new type of buyer”, stating that “Cryptocurrencies will provide a bridge from the elitist, centralist fine art market to a decentralised open-source world where many more will be able to become a part of this exhilarating market.” Dadiani also believes that greater adoption of bitcoin within the creative industries comprises a significant step towards mainstream adoption of cryptocurrency. “This could be a turning point for the crypto-currency market. For many years, it has been ridiculed but when traditional businesses, such as galleries, take it seriously it is a sure sign that this is a very important technology.”

June Saw a Number of Artistic Representations of Cryptocurrency Make Headlines

A Hong Kong art collector is also reported to have used bitcoin to purchase a painting recently. In late June, Romanian artist Stefania Nistoreanu sold the painting for two bitcoins, which at the time equated to roughly $4,500 USD. The painting, titled ‘Cryptsy’, is an oil and gold leaf on canvas piece that the artist says incorporates mathematical elements derived from cryptocurrency, and was listed alongside another of Nistoreanu’s works on Bitpremier.

June saw a number of artistic representations of cryptocurrency make headlines, with Los Angeles-based artist Matthias Dorfelt’s ‘Block Bills’ also enjoying coverage from both arts and cryptocurrency media outlets. Block Bills comprises a visual depiction of 64 randomly chosen blocks from the bitcoin blockchain.

Mexican artist, Antonio Vega Macotela, has also recently explored cryptocurrency through art, with his installation ‘Mill of Blood‘ currently being hosted at Germany’s largest art fair, Documenta 14. Reuters reports that Mill of Blood seeks to examine “the global economy and humanity”, and encourages audience members to “push a wheel on the ‘Mill of Blood’ that produces a metallic coin and a digital bitcoin.” Macotela has described the piece as being “reminiscent of mills used in Mexico and Bolivia to mint coins, using the labor of animals and slaves.”

What do you think of artists’ attempts to represent cryptocurrency? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!