It seems the Sotheby’s x Three Arrows Capital (3AC) saga isn’t over yet. Because on May 31, as the collections of generative art platform Art Blocks continue to soar, the famed auction house announced plans for another expanded live auction of significantly significant generative NFTs composed of the now-defunct Singapore-based crypto hedge fund.
This second 3AC auction, set to take place on June 15, will feature a substantial selection of 37 NFTs from the Grails – making it, as Sotheby’s puts it, the “biggest live auction of digital art ever.” The sale is expected to raise more than $5 million and will consist of a selection of mostly generative art NFTs from a variety of artists, including major Web3 players who have been credited with promoting digital art into the mainstream consciousness.
This announcement follows Sotheby’s previous sale of seven Grails works at the Contemporary Day Auction on May 19. During that sale, works sold for a combined total of $2.5 million, with Tyler Hobbs’ Fidenza #725 and Autoglyph #187 grossing $1.02 million and $571,500. , respectively.
This latest auction will once again feature works by generative pioneers such as Dmitri Cherniak and Hobbs, this time alongside pieces by a wider range of artists who have made significant strides in digital art, including Jeff Davis, Kjetil Golid, Matt DesLauriers , Deafbeef, Hideki Tsukamoto and more.
Notable pieces up for auction include Cherniak’s Ringers #879 (The Goose) and Hobbs’ Fidenza #216 – a work revered in Web3 as an example of the harmony that can be achieved through the arbitrary process of generative art. Another highlight is Archetype #397 by Golid, which exists as a single piece in a coveted, limited edition collection of 10 pieces.
Following the live auction, Sotheby’s will continue to offer Grails works throughout the year in a series of sales, with all sales from the collection honoring artists’ resale royalty rates.
With the running total for the 3AC collection currently exceeding $6 million, Sotheby’s upcoming auction seems indicative of the growing influence of generative digital art and NFTs within the global art landscape. It certainly provides an opportunity to observe the breadth of creativity and innovation present in Web3 while acting as a testament to the continued integration of blockchain technology into mainstream culture.
Editor’s Note: This article was written by an nft now contributor in collaboration with OpenAI’s GPT-4.
