An NFT auction organized in Paris |The auction magazine

by Diane Zorzi

The Boischaut auction house will present more than 70 NFT on October 23 in Paris and live on Interelères.This vacation is one of the first in France dedicated to this booming digital art market.

Since March, the non-fungible tokens market, known as NFT, of non-fungible English tokens, explodes internationally, marked by record auctions across the Atlantic.Creators of digital works, hitherto unknown in the art world, are propelled to the front of the stage, like graphic designer Beeple, including a digital compilation, called Everydays: The First 5000 Days, AWas sold nearly $ 70 million, competing with the fabrics of great masters such as women in the beret and with the grid dress of Picasso, awarded $ 69.4 million in 2018 in London."Since the beginning of the year, there have been three extraordinary sales in the United States, but in Europe there has still been nothing significant," notes Marc-Olivier Bernard, director general of the Boischaut house which will organizeOn October 23, an auction dedicated to NFT.“Our goal is to bring digital artists into this new market which allows, thanks to the blockchain [Editor's note.A blockchain, or block of blocks, is a secure technology allowing to store and share network data, without intermediary, according to a cryptographic process], to make unique what was not before, namely a digital file.»»

NFT, unique and certified digital works

NFTs allow the authenticity of a digital file to certify.In the world of art, they thus guarantee the exclusive property of a virtual work, whether it is an image, a photograph, a video or even music."A digital file without a certificate is easily duplicated," explains Marc-Olivier Bernard.The NFT, on the other hand, give a character of uniqueness to a digital work.All the certificates offered on October 23 for sale are unique and numbered 1/1.»» Au contraire des devises et cryptomonnaies, les NFT ont la spécificité d’être des actifs non fongibles, de telle sorte que leur valeur marchande est subjective et soumise à la volatilité du marché.Due to this uniqueness character, the price of an NFT evolves according to the rating, also fluctuating, of its author, and responds to the same laws that govern the market for physical works of art.

The use of an NFT is multiple, although often supervised by a contract* established by the artist who retains moral and heritage rights relating to his work."The interest in the owner of an NFT is in particular to acquire the same high definition file available to the artist.»» Concrètement, l’acquéreur peut, dans un cadre strictement privé, projeter l’œuvre par l’intermédiaire d’un écran ou encore réaliser autant de tirages qu’il le souhaite et multiplier les formats au contraire du propriétaire d’une œuvre physique qui jouit du seul tirage fixé par l’artiste."The buyer benefits from an exclusive property right on his digital file.He can therefore resell his NFT when he wishes and, in the event of loss or theft, we will provide him with a new certificate.»»

From Georges Saulterre to Grégory Chatonsky, NFT of recognized artists

For its first sale dedicated to the NFT, the Boischaut house called on artists already benefiting from institutional recognition."These are artists with whom we have direct relationships, as well as personalities selected by our partner, the Lubliner Art gallery.»» Parmi les pièces maîtresses, neuf œuvres sont signées Georges Saulterre (né en 1943).This French artist, born in Veneto, distinguished himself through his monumental sculptures, mixing bronze, ceramics, stainless steel and investing public spaces, like the main highway axes."He worked in China for twenty years where he has great notoriety.»» Depuis la fin des années 2000, l’artiste collabore avec le cinéaste, Jean-Gabriel Tordjman.Together, they design videos featuring the sculptural and graphic universe of Georges Saulterre.“We present in particular for sale a video paying tribute to the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral, explains Marc-Olivier Bernard.The two artists were deeply turned upside down by the fire that ravaged the monument in 2019 and designed a show that revives it in the form of a luminous projection.The figures of Esmeralda and Quasimodo, drawn by SAULTERRE, mix with the images of the building in flames, of its choir invaded by the rubble or of its rosette, in a grandiose presentation which replaces it in its historical depth.Through this colorful, dreamlike and spiritual fresco, the spectator is invited to relive the great history of Paris and his people.»»