MIAMI, FLA.- The Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami today announced the acquisition of the non-fungible token (NFT) CryptoPunk 5293, marking the first NFT to enter a major art museum collection. Gifted by ICA Miami Trustee Eduardo Burillo, CryptoPunk 5293 will be on view at ICA Miami this summer, reflecting the museum's commitment to advancing a wide understanding of contemporary art and fostering experimentation.
CryptoPunk 5293 is one of 10,000 unique 24-by-24-pixel icons, created in 2017by the collective Larva Labs, as one of the earliest series of NFTs ever offered for exchange on the Ethereum blockchain. Inspired by British punk rock culture, CryptoPunks are designed to appear as "misfits and non-conformists," according to their creators. Each has its own unique combination of features that are randomly generated by a software algorithm. CryptoPunk 5293 is one of 3,840 female punks, and has the attributes of "purple lipstick," a "mole," and "frumpy hair."
"Larva Labs challenged and revolutionized our understanding of the meaning of art objects and ownership when they pioneered the creation of some of the first-ever NFTs in 2017. In doing so, they helped to launch a 'cryptoart' movement that is emblematic of the ways that our digital and physical worlds are merging and becoming inextricably intertwined--influencing contemporary art and culture in a myriad of ways. ICA Miami's collection represents the most pressing and pioneering art and ideas of the present moment, across cultures and mediums, as well as historic work that influences artistic production today. CryptoPunk 5293 joins the ICA Miami collection as a work that is truly representative of the cultural zeitgeist and will have historic significance for generations to come, reflecting ICA Miami's commitment to fostering an expansive understanding of contemporary art and cultural production in the 21st century. We are enormously grateful for the extraordinary vision and generosity of Eduardo Burillo with this landmark gift to the museum," said ICA Miami Artistic Director Alex Gartenfeld.
"The CryptoPunks represent innovation in art, identity, and cultural archive. I am so pleased to support experimentation in ICA Miami's collection by contributing an important work that captures contemporary discourse and the evolution of artistic practice," said Eduardo Burillo, ICA Miami Trustee.
