The ‘living NFT’ of Casa Battló is auctioned for 1.3 million euros

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The last 10 days the Casa Battlo He has been in Rockefeller Plaza in New Yorkalmost as portrayed and Instagrammed as the original by Antoni Gaudí. In reality, what was in the iconic center of Manhattan was “Casa Batlló: Living Architecture”, the living NFT created by Refik Anadol that this weekend was projected on the jewel of Paseo de Gràcia. Installed in Manhattan as public and dynamic art piecewhich changed depending on the environmental data received from Barcelona, ​​served as a magnet and letter of introduction for the auction of that work of art this Tuesday in Christie`s. And the sale, the last in the session dedicated to 21st century art and the only one that represented the emerging market of NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens for its acronym in English), has reached a price of $1.38 million.(1.3 million euros)

The amount will be disbursed by a buyer whose identity has not been made public what has bid by phone and, after four minutes of fighting with four other potential buyers, he has seen how with his offer the hammer that Georgina Hilton was handling, arrived from Christie’s in Hong Kong, fell. With his triumph, the buyer also secures a dinner for 10 guests at Casa Batlló, as well as a personalized computer with software, a virtual reality headset and the installation source files for the digital work.

Also showing the evolution in the market, both the Anadol NFT and a non-digital work of banksy‘Diamond in the rough’, which has been sold for 3.6 million dollars, have been the only two in the auction that could be purchased with cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin and Ethereum) and as long as the buyer was not in mainland China, as explained by Hilton.

The 1.38 million that the buyer of the digital Batlló will pay has ended up slightly exceeding the lower part of the estimate with which the work started, which was between 1 and 2 million dollars. Despite this, Alex Rotter, president of the departments specializing in 20th and 21st century art sales at the auction house, declared at a subsequent press conference “very happy” with the price disbursed. An 10% of the proceedsIn addition, it goes to two institutions in Barcelona specialized in comprehensive care and family support for people with neurodivergence: the Associació Aprenem Autisme and the Adana Foundation.

move physically and emotionally

Rotter and the top manager of Christie’s, Gillaume Cerruti, have also wanted to underline the success of the installation in Rockefeller Plaza. “That facade not only physically moved but emotionally moved& rdquor ;, Rotter has assured.

The auction house’s commitment to NFTs is not new, but it is determined. And a job like the Turkish-American Anadol fits her. “We think it’s a very important part of the aesthetics of the 21st centuryand it needs to be & rdquor ;, Rotter has said.

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At Christie’s they also point to other changes that are palpable. This Tuesday almost a 10% of buyers have been millennials at an auction where they have been sold for 103 million dollars the 31 lots available (there were 33 but two works by Jean Michel-Basquiat have been withdrawn for fear that they would not reach the price that the seller and Christie’s considered appropriate). And although it has been a veiled something “drab” In the words of one of the specialists present, 10 artists have set personal records with the sales of their works and have shined on all black women and artists.

“The younger generations of collectors they have a huge impact because they begin to look at different artists and different work and that is why these 21st century sales are so interesting & rdquor ;, another of the Christie’s executives has said. “Really they are going to change the shape of the art market in the next decade and we will change with them as we follow the pleasures of the younger generations and millennials & rdquor ;.



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