On Mar. 26, Yue Minjun, the celebrated contemporary artist who first came onto the NFT scene with the “Boundless” collection in Aug. 2023, announced that he would launch “Human,” his first Ordinals collection, with LiveArt this April.
Minjun, whose works, according to LiveArt, have traded over $150 million in global sales and over $3 million in digital sales, is a prominent artist in what we in web3 refer to as the traditional art space.
Minjun’s work centers around compelling imagery of a laughing man, modelled on himself, depicted in a variety of situations. For “Human,” he returns to this motif—but also includes other imagery, like a beautifully rendered skull.
In this series, which will include 1,200 unique works, Minjun was inspired by the highlights of human history—particularly instances mentioned in historian and philosopher Arnold J Toynbee’s seminal work, “A Study Of History.”
Minjun combined two elements—his characteristic figures in the foreground and a pixelated background drawn from the human past—to create the works. “By combining these two elements and showing these key milestones, I strengthened my understanding of human development; this also provided a fuller picture for me,” he told nft now.
“I like all kinds of development—what people are doing with NFTs and web3 is building a new world. I want to participate in this great moment.”
yue minjun
The backgrounds for “Human” really pop, and balance nicely with Minjun’s iconic, masterfully realized figures in the foreground. Notable backgrounds include the pyramids, a city skyline, the Wall Street charging bull, Bitcoin logos, and Van Gogh’s “Starry Night.”
We were curious to hear how an artist who has sold at major auction houses like Christie’s (and had a resoundingly successful NFT drop mid-bear) got interested in Ordinals.
“I learned about Ordinal inscriptions a half-year ago—what I really like about this is that it’s another face in Web3 that can help me understand the world,” he told us. “I like all kinds of development—what people are doing with NFTs and web3 is building a new world. I want to participate in this great moment,” he said.
Incredibly proud of what the @LiveArtX team accomplished in 2023.
LiveArt onboarded world-famous blue-chip artists to Web3 – including the top Chinese contemporary artist Yue Minjun – with sold-out collections.
Our community has grown to nearly 1M passionate art… pic.twitter.com/Vthj0erXXN
— Boris Pevzner (@bpevzner) December 29, 2023
Founded by people with experience working at Christie’s and Sotheby’s, LiveArt brings a wealth of experience to the drop—and thinks Bitcoin, the OG blockchain, is a great place to showcase Minjun’s talent.
“Bitcoin blockchain is the epitome of a ‘blue-chip’ crypto: it has the credibility and permanence that is unmatched in the crypto universe. The world’s elite ‘blue-chip’ artists belong on the world’s most “blue-chip” blockchain, which is why we are bringing Yue Minjun to the Bitcoin blockchain as an Ordinals collection. Yue Minjun’s ‘Human’ collection represents a landmark fusion of art, historical insight, and cutting-edge technology in the Bitcoin ecosystem,” Boris Pevzner, CEO and Co-Founder of LiveArt, said in a statement.
While the exact date, price, and mint mechanics for “Human” are yet to be revealed, we know it drops in April 2024 with a tiered sale format and a pre-sale for LiveArt partners and members.
The post Exclusive: Renowned Artist Yue Minjun To Launch Bitcoin Ordinals Series appeared first on nft now.