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Social media was sent into a frenzy last week after a mysterious pure gold cube was unveiled in New York’s Central Park, while joggers and commuters curiously approached the shiny object in disbelief and examined the many security guards that protected it. It was soon revealed that the cube, made of 186 kilograms of pure 24-karat gold, was an art installation by German contemporary artist Niclas Castello.
At current prices, the gold alone is worth $11.7 million and it was displayed for a single day, as the artist explained that the piece is “a conceptual work of art” in all its facets.” The idea, he told reporters present at the site:
“was to create something that is beyond our world – that is intangible”.
As news outlets published the story and Twitter became alight with speculation, many seemed to wonder who Castello is and what sort of work he’s done in the past. Born in East Germany in 1978, this contemporary artist displays heavy influence from pop and street art, as well as the neo-expressionism of Jean-Michel Basquiat.
While currently living between the United Statesand Switzerland, he has also lived in Paris and Germany – an experience that shaped his life, especially after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
During his art residency in New York, he studied under influential American video artist Arleen Schloss. His exploration of pop culture usually puts him in the same category of contemporary artists Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst, two of the most successful and acclaimed neo pop artists of the 80s and 90s.
He is known for his sculpture The Kiss and his branded fire extinguishers, which carried luxury brands such as Ferrari, Gucci and Louis Vuitton. His work was seen as a tribute to the dadaist movement and caught the attention of the Hollywood elite, who decided to adorn their homes with his art. He gained wider notoriety after he transformed his paintings into cube-shaped sculptures by crumpling them and storing them in acrylic cases.
The pure gold cube displayed in Central Park acts as a brand ambassador for the Castello coin, which uses a blockchain to digitalize the funding process for a world-class artwork, as well as its future use cases. Using the ethereum blockchain for this offers several advantages such as decentralization, security, automation through smart contracts and simplicity of implementation. Second layer solutions will help achieve efficiency and climate friendliness.
The artist will also tap into the growing NFT art market and hold an auction on February 22 for the most expensive NFT ever created in terms of production value. Those participating will have the opportunity to be proud non-fungible token owners and can sign up on the artist’s website.
