Exhibition promotes digital ownership of art using blockchain tech

In a first in India, a new online art exhibition is looking at promoting digital ownership of artworks through blockchain technology. Conceptualised and created by Terrain.art (a blockchain-powered online platform focusing on art from South Asia) and curated by Arjun Sawhney, the first edition of ‘Masters’ features 27 artworks by Bengal-born artist Lalu Prasad Shaw, certified using Non-fungible Tokens (NFTs). NFTs are unique digital assets that can be used as individual identifiers for physical assets on a blockchain, allowing for authenticated ownership.

According to the organisers, using technologies like NFTs will help protect an artist’s future legacy by facilitating a transparent and tamper-proof transfer of digital ownership each time the works are resold. “This exhibition is an important step towards propelling the dialogue around South Asian art in line with Terrain.Art’s vision to foster a virtual and global ecosystem for art, artists and collectors from the region beginning with India, using future technologies like blockchain,” they said in a statement. The show also makes Shaw the first Indian modern artist to showcase paintings with registered non-fungible tokens.

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Predominantly figurative, the artist’s stylized representations encompass diverse subjects and objects staged meticulously in a pictorial frame. Musing on the multiple facets of the Bengali middle class, Shaw’s paintings dramatize the everyday life of people he observed in his immediate surroundings. His unique approach to composition resonates both with Kalighat pats’ and early studio photography. While primarily a painter, Shaw is also an accomplished printmaker. “Terrain.art is delighted to be one of the first blockchain powered platforms in India to register artworks using NFTs, presenting new works and those with prior histories through curated exhibitions.

“With blockchain technology, we at Terrain.art are committed to providing our current and future collectors with a transparent and trustworthy method of buying, selling, and securing their existing collection, said Aparajita Jain, founder, Terrain.art. The exhibition will continue on Terrain.art till July 31.