Instantly controversial, fuelled by the $69 million sale of a digital-only Beeple piece, NFTs have divided the art world. For some they are a means of artist’s (and celebrities) to cash in. For others, it is a whole new artistic plane to be explored, where physical limitations become non-existent and artists are more fully able to express themselves.

Vhils has already embraced this new movement of exclusive tokenized and authenticated digital works and now has helped to conceptualise Ephemeral Ethernal, the new digital showcase curated by Underdogs. The show will be “upending the rules of digital ownership and clearing the way towards the end of ephemeral art,” giving artists and buyers alike an opportunity to engage with this compelling method of producing art.

Previously covered in a three-part deep-dive, which can be read here, here and here (in that order), we explored the relevance and opportunities of NFTs in an increasingly digitised living space. Our lives are spent on phones, laptops, video games. That exclusive art should be able to exist in these spaces makes sense as, generally speaking, the real/digital dichotomy has largely dissolved with one becoming the extension of another.

As per the show’s website, the aim is clear:

Ephemeral Ethernal is the first NFT group show curated by Underdogs, including original works by a selection of 40 contemporary artists articulating exceptionally poignant and unique voices. Emerging from the growing debate surrounding the materiality, perpetuity and inherent value of artworks, along with the very nature of art itself, it represents a provocation: plunging into the future and questioning the structures that support our concept and experience of modernity.

Most of the artists have never created work in these formats, which can be acquired through an auction format. The show is an opportunity for all involved to build on their own artistic oeuvre in innovative and thought-provoking ways. It’s also a way for the artist’s audience to engage with this exciting and emergent technology.

Find out more information at the official website and be sure to tune in for this Sunday first drop.