Contemporary Artist Huang Yuxing Launches His First NFT Collection, “Meta-morphic,” a Multi-Chapter Digital Journey Through Motifs Central to His Art

Huang Yuxing is one of the most sought-after contemporary artists, with an auction turnover that has reached over $100 million.

NFTs have quickly emerged in the crypto industry, with the total transaction volume of the NFT market exceeding $60 billion. PFPs and other low value collectibles have been the main drivers of the initial NFT market trend, and many media commentators have seen the growth as short-lived, driven by flippers and profit seekers. With the recent onset of a bear market, NFT prices fell by 90%, but the desire for collecting NFTs is still prevalent, as evidenced by the large numbers of companies and brands moving into the space. What has shifted is an overwhelming interest in quality NFTs that have long-lasting value. In recent months, we have seen rising value and interest in high-quality art NFTs.

During this current market adjustment, LiveArt, a Web3 platform for art and culture, has gained momentum with artists and brands, grabbing the attention of NFT collectors. On September 7, 2022, LiveArt announced its collaboration with Huang Yuxing, who is ranked as one of the top three Chinese contemporary artists in terms of market turnover. With LiveArt, Huang will present his genesis NFT collection “Meta-morphic,” a multi-chapter series of NFTs and related works of art. LiveArt’s mission is to bring exceptional artists and projects into the digital space, creating long-lasting value to the development of NFT art.

Huang Yuxing: A Contemporary Artist’s Path to Web3

As a leading Contemporary artists, Huang Yuxing is one of the few artists who has gained both institutional attention by museums and galleries, as well as market recognition from collectors.

Huang Yuxing’s artistic style: Huang Yuxing has become an international star in the art world, by virtue of his brightly colored abstract landscapes. His signature style is rooted in Eastern aesthetics and philosophy, while his process and palette are shaped by experimentation and the contemporary world.

Huang Yuxing’s market performance: Huang Yuxing’s market performance has grown exponentially in recent years, fostered by consistent support from galleries, collectors, and institutions. He is recognized as a blue-chip artist in both Eastern and Western markets, with a record auction sale of $8,348,007 for Seven Treasure Pines, in December 2021 at an auction held by Christie’s. That same year, he collaborated with luxury brand Louis Vuitton to launch 200 customized iconic Capucines bags that sold out on their first day of sale. Huang Yuxing’s ascent continues in the contemporary art world.

Born in 1975 in Beijing, Huang studied mural painting at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Inspired by spirituality, he lived in monasteries and spent time with monks who have what he describes as an “otherworldly perspective.” These experiences were rich in Eastern philosophical beauty, and had a profound influence on Huang Yuxing’s later works.

All these experience enchanted Huang. He began to observe the cycle of nature and the connection between things: how a cloud becomes a falling raindrop, how the mottled pattern on a stone reveals the mystery of the vast universe. From the figurative presentation of rivers and mountains to the abstract superimposition of graphic bubbles, all the things that originate from nature are presented on his canvases in layers, independent of each other while closely connected. Huang’s works are visually and aesthetically impactful, and reflect his thinking about time, nature and the universe.

The “Meta-morphic” NFT collection, launched by Huang Yuxing and LiveArt, was born from the influence of natural philosophy on his art.

The Meta-morphic collection consists of seven types of treasures: Coral, Agate, Pearl, Gold, Silver, Seashell, and Turquoise. These gem types are characterized by various unique textures that trace the movement of the Earth’s crust over millions of years in their formation. The gems themselves are records of time, history, and transformation, and each are associated with specific powers and symbolic meaning.

The basis for each gemstone derives from never-before-published works by Huang Yuxing, brought to life under the artistic direction of London design studio Hato and the production expertise of Plinth. Each of the 2,197 treasures are unique, and will be sold as mystery boxes. Interested collectors can become access-listed and holders will be able to participate in future chapters of Meta-morphic and gain eligibility for other utilities such as a LiveArt airdrop.

In a recent interview, Huang Yuxing expressed his thoughts about his genesis NFT collection, saying, “I hope that through participating and collecting this series of NFTs, people can also discover the gemstone in their heart.”

Huang Yuxing’s success lies in his continuous exploration and refinement of art, as well as in his inclusive attitude towards the market. In the process of exploring the boundaries of artistic expression, the concept of creating NFTs excited Huang Yuxing because of their potential for innovative artistic expression and the ability to connect with a larger collecting community.

Dilemma and Rebirth: Revolutionizing NFTs Through Art

An artist with a successful career does not hastily jump into the world of NFTs and Web3. Huang Yuxing, having built his blue-chip reputation in the traditional art world, however, sees a future in the development of NFTs to disrupt the traditional art market, while also seeing opportunity to forge new artistic directions with innovative digital creative tools. NFTs can bring innovation to the traditional (Web2) art market.

The traditional art market has been plagued with fundamental issues that are solved by blockchain technology and NFTs: authenticity, provenance and artists resale rights. Because NFTs keep a permanent, on-chain record of who has bought and sold an art work and confirms authenticity, NFT’s can limit the number of fakes and misattributed works circulating in the art market. They are also beneficial for artists who can now track who owns their works, and more importantly they can receive a percentage of the resale value each time their art is bought and sold.

Because all NFT transactions are on-chain, and thus open, transparent and traceable, without a centralized intermediary, the technology further protects the rights and interests of artists and collectors. On-chain transactions are also simpler, more secure, and more equitable, thus greatly enhancing artworks’ liquidity.

In a nutshell, NFTs will revolutionize the traditional way of trading artworks with the potential to greatly expand the art industry.

NFTs can change the Web2 art market, and fine art NFTs can transform Web3.

As stated earlier, art itself has not been at the center of NFT mainstream projects, and the NFT hype has been more around trade than art appreciation. But the emergence of NFT projects with high-quality art are seeing an increase in long-term value. Quality NFT art has value just as quality physical art has value. Art has always served as an alternative asset class and the NFT market is taking notice.

Bridging Web2 fine art with Web3 NFTs is a necessary way to stimulate the development of the traditional art industry while also enhancing the booming NFT market.

However, there still remain many barriers for traditional artists embarking on NFT projects: How to understand the technical issues in creating an NFT? How to engage with the crypto community? How to target NFT art collectors? How to onboard traditional art collectors? How to convey to crypto users the artistic and cultural value of NFTs as well as the financial value? These are some of the questions that artists, including Huang Yuxing, raised when first exploring the creation of crypto art.

LiveArt, with its experience in the traditional art world and its expertise in Web3, hit it off immediately with Huang. With decades of experience in the art world, LiveArt understands the problems raised above and knows what it takes to bring blue-chip artists like Huang into Web3. Huang and LiveArt jointly launched the “Meta-morphic” NFT collection to bring the artist’s aesthetic quality and artistic vision to the crypto collector.

LiveArt: A Web3 portal for the art industry

Partnering with LiveArt to release his first NFT series in the Web3 world was a well-thought-out choice by Huang Yuxing. For over a year, LiveArt has launched multiple art NFT collections.

In March, LiveArt launched their Membership NFT Mint event, with participation by tens of thousands of art NFT fans.

In May, LiveArt launched an NFT collection with the artist Reva entitled Sacred Garden, a generative art series that sold out in only 8 minutes on the OKX NFT platform.

From July to August, LiveArt held its LiveArtX Global 100 event, in which around 200 artists from more than 50 countries and regions created high quality artworks around the theme, “Digital Renaissance.” LiveArt engaged with their collector community, by issuing more than 20,000 Golden Pass NFTs that holders used to vote for their favorite artworks.The event sparked widespread attention and positive discussions on both Web2 social platforms and Web3 communities.

LiveArt has had much success with digital art and Web3. But what also assures Huang is that compared to other NFT platforms, LiveArt is rooted in the art industry, with a founding team hailing from the C-suite of premier auction houses and galleries.

Simply put, LiveArt is the perfect bridge between the Web2 and Web3 art worlds, aiming to provide one-stop NFT solutions for artists, collectors and institutions. It lowers the barriers for Web2 artists to enter the Web3 world by enabling creative and technological customizations, and by building high-quality NFT projects that connect physical art and digital art.

LiveArt has many advantages in bringing traditional artists to Web3.

First, LiveArt has established connections to world-class artists, artworks, institutions and collectors.

LiveArt’s three co-founders all come from world-renowned top auction houses: John Auerbach was Executive Vice President of Art & Objects and Digital at Sotheby’s and was International Director of Christie’s Digital Business; Adam Chinn was Chief Operating Officer of Sotheby’s and a partner of Art Agency (acquired by Sotheby’s); and Boris Pevzner, who founded two projects that were acquired by Christie’s and Viacom, respectively.

The rich experience of the founders in the art field helps LiveArt establish close links with creators and collectors worldwide, ensuring exceptional art and a community of collectors.

Secondly, LiveArt reduces the threshold of Web3 with solid technical strength.

LiveArt is not just an art platform. LiveArt is also a tech platform with innovative and customized solutions for smart contracts, royalties, minting, meta-data storage, and selling and purchasing NFTs. The combination of art and tech expertise is the key to bringing a large number of Web2 artists into the Web3 art market. In addition to their technical expertise, LiveArt has additional cooperation and technical support from Everest Ventures Group (early investors in Animoca Brands, Dapper Labs, Immutable X, Sandbox).

LiveArt’s experience and resources in the art world, their unparalleled Web3 technology, and their mission to bridge the gap between the Web2 art world and Web3 has garnered the attention of many top investors in the industry.

On March 15, LiveArt announced that it had completed a funding round of over $4.6 million, led by Animoca Brands, BNB Chain Fund, and KuCoin, with the participation of not only OKX BlockDream Venture and FTX, but also cultural entrepreneurs including Adrian Cheng and top collectors including Sun Yuchen.

Conclusion

During the current bear market, during which prices for hyped NFT projects have declined, the market has had time to consider the true value of NFTs and to ponder what will have lasting significance in the Web3 space. Most in the industry have noted that only those projects with true artistic merit and cultural significance have retained their value, and therefore the market is demanding the production of more high quality art NFTs. This demand gives LiveArt a great advantage, providing customized NFT solutions while understanding the needs of Web2 artists and collectors. While the Web2 art world needs NFTs to solve the problem of authenticity, resale, and liquidity, the Web3 art world needs more Web2 artists to enter the NFT space, bringing their high quality art along with them. LiveArt bridges the gap between Web2 to Web3, and their pipeline of upcoming projects is filled with exciting surprises. “Meta-morphic” by Huang Yuxing is a great example of the innovative way in which LiveArt is bridging this gap – a multi chapter journey taking collectors through nature, art, and the creative process of the artist. More details will be announced on LiveArt’s official social media platforms.

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