If you’ve been in the Web3 art space for any amount of time, chances are you’ve heard about a majority of the artists on this list. Whether you have or not, the movements of the Web3 market are in constant flux, so we thought we would show you where everyone’s at currently, refresh you on their background, and give you a glimpse into what they’re currently working on.
It’s worth noting that the financial data, represented as “Current Artwork Value,” is based on the current USD values of ETH, XTZ, and RARE and does not reflect the total amount of sales based on historical pricing from the time of accumulated sales — which would likely be millions of dollars higher considering a majority of these artists thrived in the previous bull run.
1. Pak
Current Artwork Value:
$290,981,271 USD
What they’re known for:
Murat Pak or simply Pak, is known for creating the curation platform Archillect, an AI-powered bot that reshares media based on user interactions with content hosted on various social platforms and for launching a platform for burning NFTs to receive tokens of the cryptocurrency Ash.
Additionally, the anonymous artist has also become well-known for their highest-selling NFT collection “The Merge,” which netted $91.8 million USD in December of 2021. Pak is also credited with playing an integral role in onboarding our second artist on this list — Beeple.
What they’re doing now:
With Pak, it’s difficult to know their next move as they don’t really share all that much detail via social media — adding to the mysticism of their character. What we do know, is that they appear to be focused on continued efforts via their media experiences studio UNDREAM as well as the aforementioned content creation platform Archillect.
2. Beeple
Current Artwork Value:
$172,902,414 USD
What they’re known for:
Mike Winkelmann, better known to the Web3 world as Beeple, is best known for his “Everydays” series, which was started in 2007 with the practice of creating one artwork a day. The artist was forever etched into NFT history when his “Everydays: the First 5000 Days,” collage sold at Christie’s auction house for $69 million USD — the highest sale for a single NFT to date.
What they’re doing now:
For starters, he’s still carrying on the “Everydays” series, making one work of art a day that touches on anything from popular meme culture to sociopolitical topics and touchpoints. Additionally, he’s constructed a massive physical space for community activations and artist’s workshops to further advance the Web3 space.
Last but not least, he’ll be showcased by us at The Gateway: Korea this week, keep an eye out for more, or check out our chat with him if you missed it.
3. Snowfro
Current Artwork Value:
$93,017,141 USD
What they’re known for:
Erick Calderon, aka Snowfro, is most well known in the Web3 space for his generative art project Chromie Squiggle and for his founding of the generative art platform Art Blocks, which has championed and become a foundry for success for countless artists in the Web3 space.
What they’re doing now:
Most recently, Snowfro has partnered with Jordan Lyall and his platform ProhibitionArt to launch an inclusive generative project called “Heart + Craft” something he shared represents “my present curiosity towards demonstrating value for NFTs beyond scarcity, FOMO, and promise of future value utility…” but rather “…my vision of a digital optional/physical optional future that I believe can be appealing to a broader consumer audience.”
4. Tyler Hobbs
Current Artwork Value:
$73,230,141 USD
What they’re known for:
Tyler Hobbs is regarded by many in the Web3 space as being a pioneer for generative art via NFTs, with his most notable set of outputs being his Fidenza collection, minted in 2021. The series of 999 generated images have now become highly sought-after fine artworks and have been sold at famed auction houses like Sotheby’s and Christie’s for millions of dollars each.
What they’re doing now:
Based on a recent X post, Hobbs is celebrating the one-year anniversary of his project QQL, created in partnership with Indigo aka Team Dandelion on X. This celebration is set to include a few surprises for September as well as the offering of physical prints.
5. XCOPY
Current Artwork Value:
$63,112,183 USD
What they’re known for:
XCOPY, the anonymous, London-based digital artist, is most well known for their glitch-style works that have seemingly inspired an entire subset of artists. Topics of their works are often focused around themes of dystopia or apathy and littered with memetic nods to crypto culture.
One of their most notable works is “All-Time High in the City,” which is subsequently their highest-selling work, minted for 0.5 ETH in 2021 and sold for $6.1 million USD in 2022.
What they’re doing now:
While the artist is active almost daily on the X app, they’ve shared little on what they’re currently up to. However, their works are still finding plenty of representation around the world and in various digital galleries across the Web3 space. Although no official projects in the works have been shared, there is some speculation around a recent post that has some fans believing an open edition release could be around the corner.
6. Dmitri Cherniak
Current Artwork Value:
$61,938,324 USD
What they’re known for:
Dmitri Cherniak is a Canadian-born, New York-based generative artist known for creating a unique p5js script stored on Ethereum via Art Blocks, which produced a unique generation of art automatically — this would lead to his Ringers series, consisting of 1,000 NFTS of different combos of strings and pegs to create unique geometric artworks.
Since the creation of this series, Cherniak has gone on to see the works resold for astronomical amounts, with one of the most significant and recent sales being that of Ringers #879, aka “The Goose,” which was sold through Sotheby’s for $6.2 million USD to Punk6529.
What they’re doing now:
Based on a recent X post, it would seem Cherniak is getting closer to launching a physical art book for his collection Light Years, to be produced in partnership with the photography platform Fellowship. Another post from Cherniak hints at his increased interest in physical prints, as he’s right-click saved and “tested” a few for his own viewing pleasure.
7. Hackatao
Current Artwork Value:
$31,477,949 USD
What they’re known for:
Hackatao, a personal formed by Italian artist duo Sergio Scalet and Nadia Squarci, first formed in 2007, has been a long-time contemporary art practitioner.
Finding their start in Web3 via SuperRare, the duo quickly found success and community resonance for their works, with subjects often touching on major societal issues, the environment, humanity, crypto, art history, and more.
What they’re doing now:
While the duo hasn’t shared any major announcements as of late, they did post a 10-minute animation that was first featured at NFCsummit Lisbon, showcasing their artistic journey to date.
8. Matt DesLauriers
Current Artwork Value:
$30,198,366 USD
What they’re known for:
Matt DesLauriers, known in Web3 by his X handle Mattdesl, is a Canadian-born artist living in London, most well known for his generative art projects Subscapes and Meridian, both of which were originally released on the Art Blocks platform.
In addition to NFTs, DesLauriers has done a substantial amount of commercial work, including interactive installations featured at various events and integrated into various shows worldwide.
What they’re doing now:
While we admittedly don’t understand most of what DesLauriers posts on X, we did see some stress test works that could possibly be an indicator for new works to come or just the artist and coder having fun. Additionally, although sold out now, the artist did notably release a stunning art book showcasing his work in partnership with Monopo and VertoEditions.
9. FEWOCiOUS
Current Artwork Value:
$28,541,690 USD
What they’re known for:
Victor Langlois, better known in the Web3 world as FEWOCiOUS, is an American digital artist and painter who found his rise in the NFT space between 2020 and 2022.
Notably, Langlois has worked with the LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall, the estate of the late musician David Bowie, and Billboard magazine — as well as recently released a collaboration with adidas.
What they’re doing now:
Recent announcements from FEWOCiOUS include updates on his Fewos collection ecosystem, set to mint in mid-September.
10. Trevor Jones
Current Artwork Value:
$23,498,672 USD
What they’re known for:
In his own words, Jones describes himself as “a traditional painter but one who is also very much fascinated with art and tech collaboration. I enjoy exploring how new technology can be used with my work to more actively engage the viewer or to be incorporated to enhance or alter the viewer experience.”
Some of his most notable works include “Bitcoin Angel” and “From Palette to Canvas” which amassed several million dollars in total sales during their release in 2021 — in a matter of minutes.
What they’re doing now:
Based on a recent X post, Jones is getting ready to host his IRL “Castle Party 2023” event, which runs from September 3 to 5 and includes local eats, an open bar, DJs, games, debates, fireworks, an artist charity exhibition seemingly linked with MakersPlace, and more.
