Continuing his successful foray into NFTs, the veteran artist Charles Clough is introducing his next collection of non-fungible tokens, but with a twist. They’re free. Anyone that registers by noon PST on Friday, 2/18 will have a chance at being selected to receive a free NFT.
Clough himself explains, “Well, we’re going to give 5 away at random to anyone that gives us the basic info we need to transfer the NFT. We’re launching a completely new and different line of tradeable images, ‘Icons for The Intelligent’ I call them. My interest is in art that features the hand and touch of the artist while entering the blockchain realm. It’s a new alternative for me and for people who enjoy art.”
An alternative in more ways than one. There are the 5 he will give away; the next 10 will be approximately $20, the 20 after that $40, etc. But what’s also unique is that each NFT given away or sold comes with the original, signed painting, which are 2″ x 2″ watercolors. That’s in addition to the JPEG, and Clough’s pricing allows literally anyone to own fine art.
With his art in the permanent collection of over 70 museums globally, including the National Gallery and The New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, going into the NFT marketplace – inherently digital – was a natural fit for this acknowledged visionary. As far back as 1971, Clough envisioned a future of himself as “a painter” in the guise of “a film or a ghost”.
Today, he says “Sure, that was cosmic. But at the time I desired a medium that would allow my work to go beyond the physical realm and exist into the future. I realized that with the advent of digital photography to a degree, but this NFT thing feels different to me. My work, associated with the blockchain, will be, in some ways, eternal. Like a ghost.”
Even the free NFTs are being given away “in unity” and the artist wishes them to stay that way – the “film” and the “ghost”, so to speak. You can learn more about the life and work of Charles Clough by visiting the Clufffalo Institute.
