Welcome #305
ICA Miami presents CryptoPunk #305, bringing the work in dialogue with important contemporary art. The CryptoPunks are a seminal digital art project that helped lay the foundation for the nascent cultural and technological movement known as Web3.
Combining aspects of generative coding, pixel art, cryptocurrency and social media, the CryptoPunks have become icons of online identity for some of the most talented artists, technologists and thought leaders currently building the future internet.
This presentation follows YugaLabs’ donation of Punk #305–originally from the collection of the project’s founders Matt Hall and John Watkinson—to the permanent collection of the ICA Miami. This donation was made possible through YugaLabs’ ongoing Punks Legacy Project, which supports leading institutions worldwide.
Andy Warhol is fairly uncontested when it comes to the title of “Greatest Postmodern Portrait Artist.” His instantly iconic bright and bold silkscreen paintings depict the visages of any and everyone chic, famous, infamous or somewhere in between.
Warhol’s Society portraits were largely commissioned by their subiects as a kind of emblem for their status within the high society of cultural intelligentsia-one might argue they are precursors to the present-day phenomenon of prestigious PFPs. The series is uniform in format: all the paintings are square (40×40 in.) and display the subject from the shoulders up, reproducing their image using a combination of painterly and printing techniques.
In showcasing #305 (aka. Virtual Lady) alongside Warhol’s (American Lady), our aim is to illuminate the various affinities-both aesthetic and conceptual-that exist between Warhol’s portrait painting practice and the CryptoPunks digital avatar collection.
Presented by CryptoPunks
