ART MARKET April 2024: Highlights & Staff Picks
ART MARKET, Fakewhale Gallery’s ongoing, on-chain exhibition on objkt.com, continues to affirm its foundational expectations week after week.
Here are the statistics from February 2024 to today:
This collection serves a dual purpose: creating a selective platform for both emerging and established artists, while shaping a valuable reference for collectors within the Tezos ecosystem now and in the future.
Focused on elevating quality over conventional market dynamics, the ART MARKET curates and showcases new artists weekly, allowing them to mint and present their creations to a select audience. Since its inception, this format has not only supported artists in gaining recognition but also in aligning their works with the tastes and trends of contemporary art collectors.
As we look back on the highlights made so far to the ART MARKET, here we present Fakewhale’s staff picks for the month of April.
Handpicked Favorites
1. Lost & found by Mime Paris
Mime is a paper collage artist based in Tours & Paris who breathes life into motionless objects by repurposing visuals from second-hand, very old books: in his quest to give a new dimension to collage, Mime adds movements like a “behind the scene puppeteer,” without revealing his hands or resorting to digital additions.
In paper piece performance “Lost & Found,” everyday objects like a roll, sewing thread, a piece of slate, and a Bluetooth circuit board are thoughtfully arranged around a fashion portrait and enhanced with cobalt blue acrylic paint. Captured from above, this assembly creates a metaphorical scene that explores the unpredictable yet deliberate pathways of human existence.
2. Make a wish by Powerjah
Known for crafting majestic landscapes, in “Make a wish” Powerjah invites viewers to stand before the vastness of an otherworldly scene.
It is as if the central comet, permeating an expanse of swirling clouds, illuminates the sky with the promise — the vibrant hues and dynamic forms of the sky contrasting with the earth below, a reminder of the delicate balance between dreams and reality. In this moment of connection between earthly desires and cosmic possibility, we are reminded that we might just be able to find the space where dreams edge into reality when we believe strongly enough.
3. b0mb by nohygiene
In “Bomb” by nohygiene pieces together an intricate network of radiant, crystalline structures that suggest the complexity and precision of machine learning processes. In a way, with its cold, luminescent geometry, it could be seen as a visualization of AI’s neural networks — both beautiful and alien. It holds a mirror to the paradox of technology: the creation of something profoundly complex without the warmth of human sentiment.
4. Welcome, you’ve got hell! by Cypheristikal
“Welcome, you’ve got hell!” by the AI artist Cypheristikal is a provocative artwork that juxtaposes the surreal with the digital age’s iconography. The subject, a figure with horns reminiscent of mythological representations of the underworld, confronts the viewer with an appearance that is eerily human despite its fantastical features. Its smears and strokes of digital paint also suggest a sense of disintegration or transformation, while the background’s bold pixelated icon suggests the pervasive presence of the digital age.
Discover the artwork on objkt.com
5. Playground by Betty Najafi
Betty Najafi is a figurative expressionist painter currently exploring the digital medium.
“Playground” is a work that captures the essence of a moment, both fleeting and timeless. Betty’s use of acrylics on canvas brings life to the figures that dwell within a world rendered in bold, impasto strokes. The painting’s hazy, almost dreamlike and nostalgic atmosphere is informed by the snapshots Betty takes, as well as the songs that resonate with her during the creative process. At the same time, the figures are abstracted just enough to invite the viewer’s own memories and emotions to fill in the narrative, making each interaction with the piece deeply personal.
Discover the artwork on objkt.com
6. Unconscious by Bita
Bita is an artist who masterfully constructs collages, drawing inspiration from the subconscious mind.
“Unconscious” reveals an intricate composition tucked away within the outline of a mind, where every element represents the ephemeral thoughts and hidden narratives that shape the individual. Taking viewers into the depths of identity where the conscious mind meets the enigmatic self, the piece provides a visual conversation about the layers of our inner lives that remain hidden.
Discover the artwork on objkt.com
7. Farewell kiss by Deniz Korkmaz
As a multidisciplinary artist, Deniz Korkmaz explores the complex terrain of farewells with a rich palette and diverse textures.
This piece does not just represent a singular moment but rather an ongoing synthesis of emotions and experiences that accompany the act of letting go — an explosion of color and form, where fragmented figures and faces seem to emerge and recede into the background, embodying both the turmoil and bittersweet beauty of goodbyes.
8. Blue by REUSS
John Reuss is a contemporary artist exploring existential themes in traditional and digital art.
Utilizing acrylics and charcoal on canvas, REUSS sculpts the human form with a tangible rawness. This piece is characterized by a surreal overlay that blurs and distorts, suggesting the fluidity of identity and perception, inviting dialogue on the layered complexities of oneself.
Discover the artwork on objkt.com
9. GHOSTS by INA VARE
As an analog video and glitch artist, in “GHOST” INA VARE finds the ghost in the machine, bringing to life the unnoticed conversations of our electric companions in a medium that’s both haunting and hypnotic. Analog video glitches are rendered through the GIF medium almost to evoke the ethereal presence of voices within the power lines, communicating through chaotic streaks and vivid interruptions across each frame.
10. Totally rad by Roccano
Roccano plays with technology and memory. Roccano’s “Totally Rad” is a pixelated nostalgia trip back to the pulsating computer culture of the 90s. Captured through the GIF medium, the scene is a portrait of everyday life replete with the era’s iconic aesthetics—from the chunky computer monitor displaying neon-lit typography to the static of the television screen.
Discover the artwork on objkt.com
As we wrap up April’s staff picks, we invite you to continue following the ART MARKET both via X and our official ART MARKET channel on Farcaster.
fakewhale
Founded in 2021, Fakewhale advocates the digital art market's evolution. Viewing NFT technology as a container for art, and leveraging the expansive scope of digital culture, Fakewhale strives to shape a new ecosystem in which art and technology become the starting point, rather than the final destination.
You may also like
In conversation with Alejandro Javaloyas
In this episode of Fakewhale Live, Spanish multidisciplinary artist Alejandro Javaloyas joins host J
1 – A God Fearing Man
Rockford, Illinois, United States Duke Dasher woke up at 3:30 a.m., as he did every morning, with a
Harmonic Dissonance: Zimoun’s Sound Installations
Origins and Evolution: Zimoun’s Journey from Swiss Roots to the Global Art Scene Zimoun, an ar
