Art / HOFA: BEYOND THE HEAVENS

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* NFT, non-fungible token. Each NFT refers to a unique line of code locked into the blockchain, which is an encrypted record of ownership.

thehouseoffineart.com

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THE HOUSE OF FINE ART BEYOND THE HEAVENS

by Francesco Marchiaro

In its short history, The House of Fine Art (HOFA) has established itself as a pioneer and innovative visionary in the art sphere. As it approaches its 10-year anniversary, HOFA is once again showcasing its leadership in the art space, redefining the art world as we know it with its latest NFT* and group exhibition, “Beyond the Heavens”.

The exhibition will begin at Art Miami from November 30 to December 5 ahead of moving to HOFA’s London Mayfair Gallery until January 10.

The event will showcase a selection of some of the rarest and highly sought-after digital works on the market today, including the likes of Yuga Labs’ Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and Larva Labs’ Meebits, along with a curated selection of works by HOFA represented contemporary artists.

The BAYC NFT is part of a headlining limited NFT collection of 10,000. The current minimum price for a single BAYC NFT is 66.66 ETH - a staggering increase from its initial offering value of 0.08 ETH this past April. The highly valued digital work has attracted notable collectors like NBA player Steph Curry, and electronic music producer and DJ Marshmello.

Meebits mark Larva Labs’ third venture in the NFT space and follows its highly successful 2D Cryptopunks. Cryptopunks were featured in HOFA’s previous NFT exhibition, “Portrait of an Era”, which was dubbed the most valuable NFT exhibition in history, receiving global acclaim.

With Meebits Larva Labs have created low-poly and voxel 3D graphics, a style used in iconic games like Minecraft and Roblox. The collection has been in the works for a few years with its creators hoping the 3D avatars will serve a timeless role in virtual worlds.

The exhibition ingeniously utilises multimedia artists, Jan Kálab and Adam Martinakis, to bridge between the NFT portion of the exhibition and the contemporary artworks display. Polish artist, Adam Martinakis, showcases a digital 3D composition of his evocative 2012 “Golden Boy”.

Meanwhile, Czech artist, Jan Kálab, serves as the primary connector between the show’s digital and contemporary facets. His contemporary piece “Yellow Meduza” accompanies his latest NFT piece, “Breathing Turkis Lagoon.” Kálab’s digital images add an unmissable dimension of life and feeling to his work.

On the contemporary side of the exhibit Kálab is accompanied by some of the biggest names in the contemporary art space at the moment – many of whom utilise an amalgamation of techniques, breaking the moulds of traditional art, and incorporating modern and often technology driven concepts.

Joseph Klibansky’s favourite bronze sculpture, “The Thinker”, is featured, showcasing the Dutch artist’s hallmark themes looking into symbolistic connotations, essentialism, and the paradoxes of life. A selection of Ilhwa Kim’s metaphorical collective universes will be on display. Each piece consists of tens of thousands of seed units that represent unique universes, creating a transformative visual experience that changes from every angle of perception.

Filipino-Australian artist, Loribelle Spirovsky, a finalist for the 2017 Australia Archibald Prize, one of the most prestigious portraiture awards in the art space, will showcase “Homme 249”. Her work externalises the internal conflict within the human psyche, creating an unsettling and surreal effect. Fellow Australian artist, Jason Sims, explores the properties of light and reflection to create illusions of space, challenging our perception of reality with his “Light Break (Nexus)”.

The traditional is revived and given a second life with Italian artist, Fabio Viale’s, “Kouros” pieces. His modern and distinctive tattoo colouring technique has revolutionised the traditional world of sculpture. Similarly, the modernisation of classic techniques can be

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seen in Argentinian artist, Romina Ressia’s, “Double Bubble Gum”. Her pictorial style, encompassing anachronisms, absurdism, and irony to address modern issues, has been making a distinguished impression in the contemporary art world. Ressia was named a rising talent by the influential Women’s Forum for the Economy and Society.

The exclusive and distinguished selection of works for the “Beyond the Heavens” is yet another reflection of The House of Fine Art’s commitment to continual innovation, attracting rarefied pieces of appreciating value, and representing a diverse compilation of artists.

HOFA: A Storied Decade

Since its birth, HOFA has made an indelible mark on the art space, transforming the way people invest and collect art around the world. With locations in London and Mykonos, HOFA started out in 2012 as a traditional contemporary art gallery. Within six years the gallery branched out into the crypto sphere, becoming the first gallery ever to make its entire collection available in crypto.

While the coronavirus pandemic marked a time of significant difficulty for many businesses and organisations, HOFA used the pandemic as an opportunity to develop and expand its digital and crypto projects. The results of those efforts were made conspicuously apparent this past year, which saw HOFA release its first NFT, “Pink Flower”, by Zhuang Hong Yi; and its first NFT exhibition, “Matter & Form”.

Over the year, HOFA has continued to expand its share of voice in the digital art world. This past autumn it hosted the most valuable NFT gallery exhibition ever recorded; announced the release of its own mobile App; launched its own exclusive smart contract and NFT platform, HOFA.io, built on the Ethereum Network with sustainable ethics; and developed its own Swiss-based cryptocurrency, Artem, to facilitate trades on its platform.

HOFA.io is the first NFT marketplace owned and managed entirely by a leading international art gallery. The platform was developed exclusively for the sale of crypto-art and adopts a hybrid model that reduces its carbon footprint. HOFA has already minted and auctioned its initial set of artworks on the platform.

The avant-garde House of Fine Art will undoubtedly be a key instrument in determining the artistic zeitgeist of the 2010s and 2020s. Artistic collectors and investors take note.