Particle is launching its platform with a historic marriage of art and technology by dividing Banksy’s 2005 work “Love is in the Air” into 10,000 Particles and selling the Particles as NFTs, allowing anyone to own a part of this iconic piece of art.
Check out the introductory video below.
Particle, a company with deep roots in the worlds of art and technology, is launching its platform with a unique marriage of art and technology by dividing Banksy’s 2005 work “Love is in the Air” into 10,000 “Particles”, and selling the Particles as NFTs, allowing anyone to own a part of this iconic piece of art. Purchased for $12.9 million by Particle at auction at Sotheby’s in May, Sotheby’s describes “Love is in the Air” as “a quintessential Banksy painting, instantly recognizable, an image that has become synonymous with the artist’s indelible graphic style, wry humor and galvanizing political commentary.”
Loïc Gouzer, Particle co-founder said:
“Banksy has turned the art world on its head. Widely regarded as one of the most iconic creators of the 21st century — his daring, humanitarian nature and strong belief that art should be for everyone reflects the mission at Particle, making this masterpiece symbolic to launch the platform with.”
The unique Particalization process involves dividing a painting into a 100×100 grid, resulting in 10,000 unique Particles, which are then turned into NFTs. Each Particle is unique and allows the holder to enjoy a personal ownership experience with the artwork.
“Through this unique process, Particle is achieving digitization without destruction of the underlying work. We believe that NFTs are enabling a new form of ownership that could not exist previously. Particles allow anyone to be an owner of a great work, no matter who or where they are.”
The physical painting of “Love is in the Air” will be donated to the Particle Foundation – a nonprofit whose job is to maintain, preserve and tour the collections owned by the Particle community. Particle will also donate 1% of Particles to the Foundation, which will act as a protective shard and ensure no one person can envisage claiming possession of the physical painting. Finally, the Foundation will also receive a portion of the royalty revenue contributing to that assurance.
Charlotte Eytan, Director of the Particle Foundation explained:
“While some have chosen to burn paintings to transition them to the digital realm, we believe that is neither ethical nor necessary. It is important to us that the in-person, ‘physical’ enjoyment of works of art is maintained. By placing ‘Love is in the Air,’ and all subsequent acquisitions in the Particle Foundation, we are able to ensure that the works are forever preserved and made available for everyone to enjoy. The Foundation will never sell those Particles, or the underlying physical works.”
Once a buyer purchases a Particle, they receive a digital certificate, or collector’s card, which represents the buyer’s ownership in the painting. Collectors will have the right to buy and sell their NFT(s) on secondary markets or transfer them at will. Collectors have the right to see the painting whenever and wherever it’s displayed, and the right to call the painting theirs as the only non-charitable owners of the works in the collection.
Interested buyers may apply for Particles starting December 13, 2021. In the meantime they can sign up for the waitlist on www.particlecollection.com, giving them more chances of being allocated Particles at the Primary Sale. The Primary Sale of “Love is in the Air” Particle NFTs begins the week of January 10–14, 2022 and will be held on the Avalanche blockchain.
The Particle Foundation will unveil and exhibit “Love is in the Air” at First Fridays at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami (ICA Miami) during Art Basel week in Miami on Friday, December 3, 2021.
Particle was founded by Loïc Gouzer, former chairman of Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art, Shingo Lavine and Adam Lavine co-founders of Ethos.io, Philip Eytan co-founder and chairman of Voyager, and Oscar Salazar, founding CTO and Chief Architect of Uber.
