Art Blocks x Pace
Dear AB Community,
When Erick reached out to me about Art Blocks in September of 2020, I had no idea what this would become. A generative artist exploring NFTs, I was intrigued by the idea of using blockchain technology to generate unique works of art. Erick was pitching a concept I had been contemplating myself — a digital art vending machine. So, I jumped in, thinking this would be a cool project for that tiny cross section of individuals who were interested in both creative coding and NFTs. Our opening day launch was a success, and I let Erick know that I wanted to help build Art Blocks. We decided to work together with a promise to have fun above all else.
And what a ride it’s been. Here we are, a year and half later, and the growth has been phenomenal. Over 300 generative projects deployed from the world’s greatest digital artists. A company of 30 employees and growing. Exhibitions spanning the globe including Sotheby’s, Art Basel Miami Beach, Frieze LA, Expo Chicago, Venice Biennale, Marfa Invitational, and Taipei Dangdei, with Basel, Switzerland and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on the horizon. It’s been a remarkably humbling experience made possible by your early support and endless enthusiasm. We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished — together — to elevate this art we so dearly love.
Today, we’re excited to share a new initiative in our mission to champion generative art as an internationally recognized art form. We’re thrilled to announce that we’re joining forces with Pace Gallery for an ongoing partnership of generative art projects, exhibitions, and community programming. Pace is one of the world’s premier international art galleries, representing some of the most important contemporary artists working today. They have gallery locations in New York, East Hampton, Palm Beach, Palo Alto, London, Hong Kong, and Seoul. As one of the first mainstream galleries to embrace NFTs through its Web3 venture Pace Verso, this partnership marks an important step for furthering generative art within the traditional art world. The groundbreaking relationship will bring Pace artists to Art Blocks to share their work with our community as well as introduce generative minting to a collector base that Pace has cultivated over the last 60 years. In addition, our platform will receive meaningful exposure in the broader contemporary art world through exhibitions at Pace’s global locations and presentations at international art fairs.
To facilitate this partnership, we’re developing a new framework at Art Blocks to support collaborations. In addition to our core Art Blocks collections, collaborations with select art partners will be organized into a new vertical of co-branded collections, starting with Art Blocks x Pace. Because partner projects will live directly in the Art Blocks ecosystem, they will be subject to the same quality review and scheduling as any other Art Blocks project. These will be true collaborations between Art Blocks and our partners to shape the program of offerings, and we’re excited by the opportunity of working with art-forward organizations who seek to advance generative art with us.
We’ll be kicking off our Pace partnership with a number of community events over the coming weeks including online talks, exhibitions, and celebrations, culminating in the release of a new project by John Gerrard titled Petro National on June 21st. Consisting of 196 uniquely generated works that engage with the potential of digital simulation, Petro National explores themes of energy production, nationhood, and other timely subjects. Please watch our Discord and social media channels for information on upcoming events and project updates.
Once again, none of this would be possible without your trust and support. We think we’ve built something special here at Art Blocks and are excited to share it with the rest of the world. Thank you for believing in us and for being a part of this movement. Generative art is here to stay, and we can’t wait to see what the future brings.
Sincerely,
Jeff
