Today, I would like to share a list of outstanding pieces I feel are underappreciated. I’ve worked on it while collaborating with Feral File and Casey Reas for the Blind Gallery Vistas Edition. While working on the Blind Gallery show, I kept returning to Feral File and its deep history of 37 outstanding exhibitions —released over the past two and a half years.
In this issue, I highlight 17 remarkable Feal File artworks and 8 notably accessible pieces from Feral File’s history.
For those unfamiliar with Feral File, it is “an art gallery that focuses on transformative exhibitions by the world’s most revered digital artists.” It was founded in 2020 by Casey Reas and the software company Bitmark.
Generative art through coded algorithms or AI-based models is the tool of choice for most artists invited to this gallery.
Besides collaborations with prominent artists like Tyler Hobbs, Dmitri Cherniak, and Refik Anadol, they’ve also teamed up with top curators like Jason Bailey (artnome), Rick Silva, and Anika Meier.
Feral File’s artworks have been minted in different blockchains (Ethereum, Bitmark, and Tezos) and introduced different mechanics of distribution, like editions (multiple pieces of the same artwork), 1/1s (only one unique piece), and 1/1/X (unique pieces that art part of the same collection).
They recently included ‘sets,’ meaning you must collect a complete package of one piece per participating artist (you can’t purchase one piece alone). This restriction doesn’t apply to the secondary market.
The following list is entirely subjective, based on my taste. I also tried to shine a light on artworks that haven’t received the attention they deserve for one reason or another. The order isn’t relevant, as I’m not trying to classify these works but instead bringing attention to them.
Before getting started, here are two reminders:
If this is the first time reading my market analysis and you would like to get familiar with some terms, I suggest you read this first.
This isn’t financial advice. NFTs are very volatile, and you should always do your own research.
I had the chance to see this masterpiece exhibited at the main entrance of the MoMA. The exhibition was so impacting that the MoMA extended the installation for several months.
Exhibition: Unsupervised at The Musem of Modern Art (MoMA), November 2021
Size: There are three 1/1s, and 9 series of 100 editions - from A to I
Floor: 1.6 ETH
Arguably one of the most popular generative artists on the planet, Tyler Hobbs released a tiny collection of 30 pieces on Feral File—only one piece is listed (33 ETH).
F(l)ight by Tyler Hobbs.
Exhibition: GRAPH, November 2021
Curator: Casey Reas
Size: 30 unique pieces (1/1/x)
Floor: 33 ETH
This piece was part of the first-ever Feral File exhibition (Social Codes), curated by Casey Reas. Ringer’s creator, Dmitri Cherniak, made Transparent Grit, 75 editions that “could represent any scale, from a vast galaxy, to a tiny atom.”
Transparent Grit by Dmitri Cherniak (animated).
Exhibition: Social Codes, March 2021
Curator: Casey Reas
Size: 75 editions
Floor: 15.69 ETH
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I was shocked to see this collection. Casey found inspiration in my fellow countryman, Jesus Soto. I tried to do something similar last year: Soto collection.
We start to see a trend of tiny (less than 100 pieces) long-form or curated generative art collections on Feral File.
METASOTO by Casey Reas (animated).
Exhibition: Peer to Peer (with Buffalo AKG Art Museum), November 2022
Curator: Tina Rivers Ryan
Size: 67 unique pieces (1/1/x)
Floor: 0.5 ETH.
Not much is known about the Argentinian artist Manolo Gamboa, who likes to keep a low profile and rarely creates enormous drops. For that reason, his supply is extremely low.
uneasy dream by Manolo Gamboa Naon (animated).
Exhibition: Social Codes, March 2021
Curator: Casey Reas
Floor: 8.99 ETH
Size: Edition 49
Itzel Yard’s dancing body is seen in the animation using a technique that bends scrolling horizontal white lines. Tina Rivers Ryan curated this piece in collaboration with the Buffalo AKG Art Museum.
Bend by Ix Shells (animated).
Exhibition: Peer to Peer (together with the Buffalo AKG Art Museum), November 2022
Curator: Tina Rivers Ryan
Size: 7 editions
Floor: Not listed
Nadieh is part of the gmStudio curator’s panel, an astronomer, and a data visualization professional. I found this minimal and abstract collection —curated by Aaron Penne— quite unique.
wavʌves by Nadieh Bremer.
Exhibition: N=12, July 2023
Curator: Aaron Penne
Floor: 0.15 ETH
Size: 144 unique pieces (1/1/x)
Another impressive and tiny long-form generative collection, this time by Kim Asendof, the master of pixel sorting algorithms. I wrote a column about Kim for PROOF Signal last month.
COLORS OF NOISE By Kim Asendorf (animated).
Exhibition: Solo show
Curator: Peggy Schoenegge
Floor: 0.485 ETH
Size: 50 unique pieces (1/1/x)
Another tiny collection of 17 unique artworks (I told you) created by a digital art pioneer. There is only one work listed for 1.1 ETH.
Exhibition: Solo show, March 2022
Floor: 1.1 ETH
Size: 17 curated pieces
Catt’s 256 Kill-Screen is an evolution from his highly experimental style.
What if the World Wide Web was never invented and computer bulletin board systems (BBS) were the dominant interface of the internet?
256 Kill-Screen by Daniel Catt (animated).
Exhibition: N=12, July 2023
Curator: Aaron Penne
Size: 144 unique pieces (1/1/x)
Floor: 0.345 ETH
Another impressive collection from GRAPH, an exhibition that focuses on plotter drawings curated by Casey Reas. This collection included prints shipped directly from James Merrill’s studio to the original collectors.
Chaos Blocks by James Merrill.
Exhibition: GRAPH, November 2021
Curator: Casey Reas
Size: 30 unique curated pieces
Floor: N/A
The French artist was part of the P1x3L exhibition curated by Casey Reas. These are two pieces (editions) inspired by optical and kinetic art of the 1960s and 1970s, created by artists like Jesús Rafael Soto (like METASOTO) and Victor Vasarely.
4 ORBS by Nicolas Sassoon (animated).
Exhibition: P1x3L, September 2021
Curator: Casey Reas
Size: 2 sets of 30 editions
Floor: Not listed
The creative studio led by Sofia Crespo and Feileacan Kirkbride McCormick has participated in Feral File exhibitions multiple times. Nevertheless, I consider this piece special because it was back in 2021, and it showcases the spirit of their works, purely —animated creatures, usually aquatic, assisted by AI.
There once was a jellyfish ... by Entangled Others (animated).
Exhibition: Reflections on the Water, October 2021
Curator: Luba Elliott
Size: 88 editions
Floor: Not listed
A tiny collection from Iskra Velitchkova, with only 50 pieces in existence. This collection was originally minted on the Bitmark blockchain for the GRAPH exhibition.
CHERTI by Iskra Velitchkova.
Exhibition: GRAPH, November 2021
Curator: Casey Reas
Size: 30 unique curated pieces
Floor: Not listed
The artist duo, Jennifer and Kevin McCoy, minted the iconic ‘Quantum’ to the namecoin blockchain in 2014. This piece is inspired by their work ‘Public Key / Public Key,’ donated to the Whitney Museum.
Public View / Private View by Jennifer and Kevin McCoy (animated).
Exhibition: Chain Reaction, March 2023
Curator: Christiane Paul
Size: 93
Floor: 1 ETH (only one piece listed)
This collection was initially created in 1986 by Lee Mullican, an artist included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, among others. The solo show was curated by Anika Meier, who has a history of bringing the old greats to the blockchain.
LeeMullican.PCX.
Exhibition: Solo show, March 2023
Curator: Anika Meier
Size: 20 sets of 12 editions
Floor: 350 Tezos
A rare piece by AI artist and founder of BrainDrops, Gene Kogan.
Interplanery by Gene Kogan (animated).
Exhibition: Ecotone, September 2022
Curator: Primavera De Filippi & Wolfgang Natlacen
Size: 150 editions
Floor: Not listed
During my research, I found some outstanding works at very accessible prices (considering the artist’s overall value in the market). Here is a list of pieces below 1 ETH / 2,000 Tezos (±$1,500).
Night Shoots by Monica Rizzolli, 101 editions, 389 Tezos.
Balls to the Walls by Piter Pasma, 144 unique pieces (1/1/x), 0.095 ETH.
Oscillation II by Anna Lucia, 144 unique series (1/1/x), 0.16 ETH.
Hypothetically Macro by Iskra Velitchkova, 51 editions, 0.25 ETH.
Crosstalk by ippsketch, 144 unique pieces (1/1/x), 0.15 ETH.
Metamultimouse by Matthew Plummer-Fernández, 101 editions, 270 Tezos.
Transcendental Doodle by Anne Spalter, 101 editions, 500 Tezos.
What Time Works for You? by IX_Shells, 101 editions, 1,500 Tezos.
As a closing note, keep in mind there are over 100 artworks across all Feral File exhibitions, and therefore, there are so many extraordinary works that I couldn’t include. I invite you to explore the fantastic exhibitions crafted by Feral File and the curators over the past three years.
Until next time,
- Kaloh
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Kaloh
