Despite its relative youth, NFT art has already dazzled the art world with controversy, intrigue and surprise in equal measure. For the latest in a number of firsts for the genre, a Christie’s auction will offer traditional, physical paintings accompanied by NFT artworks made by digital feminist collective Rewind.
The anonymous collective has blazed a trail in digital art, reinterpreting existing paintings to confront gender and minority imbalances in art world structures.
Above: Elaine de Kooning, Red Oxide Grotto (Cave #175), 1988, acrylic on canvas. Below: Rewind Collective, Thinking of Elaine (I Call Bull). non-fungible token (.mp4).
Rewind Collective has created original works inspired by five paintings by pioneering women of Abstract Expressionism. Collectors who successfully bid on the paintings – by Helen Frankenthaler, Elaine de Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Yvonne Thomas, and Lynne Mapp Drexler – will receive an accompanying original NFT created by Rewind Collective.
For the sale, Christie’s and Rewind Collective have teamed up with activist and gallerist Amar Singh, who recently pledged to donate $5m worth of art by female, LGBTQ+ and minority artists to museums worldwide by 2025.
Above: Grace Hartigan, Pigeon Calls, 1962, oil on canvas. Below: Rewind Collective, Thinking of Grace (Cedar Tavern), non-fungible token (.mp4).
‘I exhibited Rewind Collective at my gallery in 2017 and I share their mission to champion women and underrepresented communities,’ says Singh. ‘For me, LGBTQ+, female and minority artists have long been overlooked and cast aside. My collaboration with Christie's brings the women of abstraction to the forefront where they belong, with the added help of Rewind Collective's stunning NFTs also honouring them.’
NFT artworks include Thinking of Elaine, created in response to Elaine de Kooning’s Red Oxide Grotto (Cave #175). As Rewind Collective explains of the piece, ‘Elaine de Kooning always called bull amongst the misogyny of the art world, she was outspoken, a rule-breaker, and famously humorous. This digital work anthropomorphises de Kooning’s famous bull paintings, fighting like the women of Abstract Expressionism fought in the 1950s to be seen and heard.’
Lynne Mapp Drexler (1928-1999), Daffodil Gloucester, oil on canvas, 1960.
Rewind Collective, Remember Us IV (Watch Your Head), non-fungible token (.mp4).
INFORMATION
Rewind Collective x Christie's NFT and women of Abstract Expressionism auction will take place on 14 May. christies.com
-
Oystra is ZHA’s sculptural vision for living in the United Arab EmiratesMeet the team translating ZHA’s bold concept for the new development into ‘a community elevated by architecture’ – Dewan Architects + Engineers and developer Richmind
-
‘I want to feel optimism’: Tory Burch hopes her latest collection sparks joyPresented in Brooklyn as part of New York Fashion Week, Tory Burch’s latest outing continued her newfound eye for experimentation and play – a balm, she says, for ‘the dark times we are in’
-
Vacheron Constantin unveils an exceptional astronomical clock at Le LouvreTo mark its 270th anniversary, Vacheron Constantin has created astronomical artistry in La Quête du Temps, now part of an exhibition at Le Louvre
-
What's the story with Henni Alftan’s enigmatic, mysterious paintings? The artist isn’t sayingParis-based artist Henni Alftan's familiar yet uncanny works are gloriously restrained. On the eve of a Sprüth Magers exhibition in Berlin, she tells us why
-
Home again: the artists reframing the domestic worldThe humble home has fascinated artists for hundreds of years. But what, exactly, is the appeal? Artists including Andrew Cranston, Cece Philips and Do Ho Suh on magic in the mundane
-
From art to fashion, and back again: Jonathan Schofield’s figurative work is back in styleAfter graduating from London’s Royal College of Art, Jonathan Schofield began a career as a creative director at Stella McCartney. Now, he has returned to his first love, painting
-
Creativity and rest reign at this Tuscan residence for Black queer artistsMQBMBQ residency founder Jordan Anderson sparks creativity at his annual Tuscan artist residency. Wallpaper* meets him to hear about this year's focus.
-
Rolf Sachs’ largest exhibition to date, ‘Be-rühren’, is a playful study of touchA collection of over 150 of Rolf Sachs’ works speaks to his preoccupation with transforming everyday objects to create art that is sensory – both emotionally and physically
-
After decades capturing the world’s fashion-set, photographer Johnny Rozsa picks up a paint brushIn his first exhibition of paintings, the New York-based artist celebrates the vibrancy of Tangier while rediscovering a familiar creative outlet
-
Leila Bartell’s cloudscapes are breezily distorted, a response to an evermore digital world‘Memory Fields’ is the London-based artist’s solo exhibition at Tristan Hoare Gallery (until 25 July 2025)
-
Photographer Mohamed Bourouissa reflects on society, community and the marginalised at MASTMohamed Bourouissa unites his work from the last two decades at Bologna’s Fondazione MAST
