‘Spike’ is a unique piece of artwork that was created by the enigmatic street artist Banksy in 2005. Today, a “Digital Original” of the physical artwork is going to be auctioned off as a licensed NFT.
50% of the revenue from the auction will be donated to charities to support people suffering from conflicts around the globe.
The original piece of artwork, which was created in Palestine during Banksy’s travels in the West Bank, is owned by Vittorio Grigolo. Grigolo is a famous Italian operatic tenor who is also the co-founder of Valuart, the platform on which the NFT will be sold. The famous piece of artwork can be seen floating across the earth before emerging on Earth as an NFT in Valuart’s story, which has been published on YouTube.
Valuart is an up-and-coming ecosystem dedicated to curating artwork and selling it through its auction platform. This will be Valuart’s first-ever auction since the platform was created in March 2021.
“We wanted to support the NFT revolution by creating a platform that would represent the safe haven for artists and their art, art collectors and art lovers in general,” Grigolo says when asked about the story behind Valuart.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, museums, cinemas, theaters, and art galleries have been hit hard by social distancing. As a result, cultural institutions around the world have been shutting their doors to the public — many of them have closed permanently. The ‘NFT revolution’ that Grigolo speaks of is hardly surprising. And while the hype really got started at the end of last year, it has just been within the past few months that many investors and art collectors have really started to take notice — this is still just the beginning.
You might remember back in March when Beeple’s opus sold for $69 million at Christie’s. Or even more recently in June when Bonhams sold his work Death Dip for 1000 ETH. Given that Banksy is one of the most popular artists of all time — a couple of years ago he was voted the peoples’ favorite artist of all time in his birthplace, the United Kingdom — Spike won’t be one to miss.
“I’m very excited about this new project. After months of hard work we can finally share with everyone what we created. I’m convinced that this is the future of how we perceive, admire and give value to art and artists,” says Grigolo.
For Valuart, Banksy is just the beginning. The platform has big plans for future drops — including a The Giubilar Mantle worn by the former head of the Catholic Church, Papa Giovanni Paolo II, in 1999 — and has already onboarded multiple leading artists and celebrities.
The auction hasn’t even started yet, but it’s hard not to feel excited by Grigolo’s enthusiasm. “This first drop is just a stepping stone that will pave the way towards a very exciting future,” he says.
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