NEW YORK – DECEMBER 01, 2021 – Particle, a company with deep roots in the worlds of art and technology, 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. 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, image has become synonymous with the artist’s indelible graphic style, wry humor and galvanizing political commentary.”
The Particle Foundation will unveil and exhibit “Love is in the Air” at First Fridays at the ICA (Institute of Contemporary Art) during Art Basel week in Miami on Friday, December 3, 2021.
“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,” said Loïc Gouzer, Particle co-founder.
“The traditional art establishment doesn’t really know what to make of Banksy, and yet here he is, revolutionarily infiltrating it, and the world at large to the highest level, from every corner. For us, ‘Love is in the Air’ is emblematic of a new chapter of the history of art – one that can be more open, collaborative and community based,” said Shingo Lavine, Particle co-founder.
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,” added Lavine.
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.
“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,” said Charlotte Eytan, Director of the Particle Foundation. “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.”
“While everybody is talking about the Metaverse we are creating the foundation of a Meta Museum — a platform powered by the Blockchain where people around the world can own art masterpieces and interact with them over the Internet and in the physical world,” said Oscar Salazar, Particle co-founder.
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.
About Particle
Particle’s mission is to revolutionize the way people own, collect, experience, and enjoy art masterpieces. NFT technology and the unique Particle process allows for the decentralization of the art collecting and ownership experience. We’re combining the best of art and blockchain expertise to build a platform that gives everyone the opportunity to own some of the world’s greatest masterpieces through collective participation in the art market. Every work acquired by Particle will be included in the Particle Foundation—a non-profit that will maintain, display, and tour the collection on behalf of the community.
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. Particle has raised $15 million in seed funding including an investment from Voyager Digital (TSX: VOYG, OTCQX: VYGVF, FRA: UCD2), Atrum, and others who are passionate about the art and NFT markets.
