Internationally renowned pop artist and painter, Rob Prior, is expanding his work with NFTs. Prior’s first NFT offering, “Reign of Money: What the F#$%,” a 1:1 NFT sold for $182,050. The artist will build on his previous NFT achievements with a new crypto-based project, as reported by Pr.com.
For this new venture, Prior will work with QNFT, a blockchain marketplace development group, to bring a selection of NFTs featuring works like Prior’s Frida Kahlo portrait to NFT collectors. QNFT is operated by BQT Technologies. BQT Technologies CEO, Edward W. Mandel, called the partnership with Prior “a no-brainer.”
“Watching Rob paint is like watching a symphony conductor at Carnegie Hall and we are humbled to be part of Rob’s team. We are saving all the ‘back-stage’ content of Rob’s making his masterpieces for the NFT metadata to be recorded in history,” Mandel said.
BQT.io had already launched, in collaboration with NftBlue.com, a series of drops of exclusive NFT collections based on real art from the physical world this summer, worth over $ 100 million dollars. Presenting works by Hooranky Bae, a well-known Korean abstract expressionist artist who is in the ranks of a world-class master in the field of digital media art. One of his most recent art pieces by him was recently sold for over $ 10 million USD during an auction event in Seoul, South Korea, and $ 5.05 million on a previous auction hosted by NFTBlue.com marketplace.
Prior is known for his live paintings, which draw audiences in excess of 300,000 every year, captivating their imaginations with both his pop and fine art. He announced in December 7 an historic, multi-million dollar art sale at Art Basel Miami. The sale included the purchase of a watercolor portrait of famed fashion designer Virgil Abloh by real estate executive Daniel Pettit for $1 million. Prior painted the piece live in Miami, and Pettit immediately offered to purchase it.
After the sale, Prior expressed his gratitude to the collectors, stating “I always tell fans ‘I do art.’ But, I have to say, it’s kind of humbling that collectors express the interest and faith in my pieces to place a value like this on them.”
Among other artworks were a pair of portraits featuring multi-world championship winning boxer Canelo Álvarez, which sold together for $500,000. The proceeds of one Canelo piece, “To the Left: Canelo Portrait No. 1,” will be donated entirely to charity. Additional sales included a heart-touching portrait of global art icon Frida Kahlo, which was inspired by the recent sale of her “Diego Y yo” self portrait at Sotheby’s for $34.9 million. Prior also completed and sold a pair of Bruce Lee portraits, and one of his “Stan Lee Legacy Collection” parody comic book covers featuring and signed by comic titan Stan Lee, which will go to the home of an anonymous Hillsboro, FL, pharmaceutical executive.
