SKYE NICOLAS

ARTIST

SKYE NICOLAS | QUINTESSENCE

In celebration of youth culture and coming-of-age tropes, "NO, DON'T DISAPPEAR [WM-2]" from Skye Nicolas' Walkman series elevates portable music devices such as the Sony Walkman as cerebral or dematerialized readymades: conceptual digital representations of physical objects contextualized as digital artifacts containing data.
The series typifies Nicolas<meta charset="utf-8">' pixel paintings in which remixed images are reduced to their essential structure, the outline. Graphic elements are streamlined into nebulous shimmering pixels that dance across the contrasting dark background of the digital canvas. Declarative statements glide across the screen (often lifted from 1980’s and 1990’s era song lyrics), serve as both internal dialogue and a crucial visual detail to complete the digital painting’s overall composition. The result of this process of reduction and layered storytelling is a visually poetic distillation in which the viewer finds themselves occupying; an intangible dreamscape atmosphere arousing an induced nostalgia that seduces and captivates the senses.
ABOUT THE NFT 
Collectors purchase the physical edition on EXPANDED.ART. The artist mints the NFT on Tezos and sends it via Airdrop to the collector’s wallet. 
ABOUT THE EDITION NUMBER
The editions are numbered randomly, i.e. the edition number is not chronologically assigned to the time of order receipt. All LIMITED EDITIONS are authenticated with a Certificate of Authenticity signed and numbered by the artist on the back of the print.

NO, DON’T DISAPPEAR [WM-2]

SKYE NICOLAS | THE INTELLECTUAL SUPERIORITY OF AI-CREATED ART

VOICE GEMS x Skye Nicolas

Skye Nicolas speaks to Anika Meier about music and nostalgia, digital art and pop culture.

NOSTALGIA AND PIXEL PAINTINGS

SKYE NICOLAS: LIVING IN A SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL

Post-conceptual artist Skye Nicolas utilizes a variety of mediums, including large-format paintings, filmmaking, photography, public space interventions, sculpture, and digital artworks, to combine elegantly composed amalgamations of vivid imagery with familiarity and the skewing of timelines. His methodical reassignment of pop culture references demonstrates the intricate interweaving of important elements in his work, emphasizing concept and composition as the two most important basics. 

The artist reflects on the intellectual idea of conceptual art in the age of AI.

ESSAY BY SKYE NICOLAS

META PROSE AND THE INTELLECTUAL SUPERIORITY OF AI-CREATED ART

MAGAZINE

QUINTESSENCE by Skye Nicolas unveils 100 digital artworks, reimagining masterpieces as pixel paintings. This transformation reflects an accessible philosophical paradox. The collection, rooted in 1980s nostalgia, embraces technology limitations, exploring appropriation and authorship with common tools.

QUINTESSENCE

SKYE NICOLAS | SHOWROOM

TECHNO TERRAIN: NATURE IN THE AGE OF THE METAVERSE explores the dynamic relationship between nature and the digital realm. The exhibition takes visitors on a journey through a mesmerizing fusion of AI-driven digital art, nostalgia-infused landscapes, and the limitless possibilities of the metaverse.



NATURE IN THE AGE OF THE METAVERSE 

TECHNO TERRAIN | SHOWROOM

VOICES OF WEB3 is an archive of voices and statements summing up the year 2023 in digital art and culture. It is a document in time on the blockchain bringing together some of the leading voices shaping Web3 and the history of digital art.

THE ARCHIVE 2023

VOICES OF WEB3 | GALLERY

What would Marshall McLuhan write today? Very likely text messages. The global village is now largely connected via messenger apps and social media. Life is closeness to strangers and friends, changing every second. Thoughts and feelings are shared as they are thought and lived. 

AN EXHIBITION OF MIXED MESSAGES

THE TEXT IS THE MESSAGE | GALLERY

More than 15 artists explore the duality of kitsch and its critique of modernity, technology, and online culture. Bright, pastel-coloured fantasy worlds filled with unicorns, animals, and other fluffy creatures evoke feelings of tenderness and innocence. But is cuteness always this innocent? 

GROUP EXHIBITION

THE CUTE SHOW | SHOWROOM

17 artists explore the vast potential of future relationships between AI and creative expression to hypothesize on the not-so-distant future through digital art, video art and AR. In collaboration with VerticalCrypto Art in Berlin.

THE PROMISES OF AI

ALGORITHMIC EMPATHY | GALLERY

A NEW BEGINNING | GALLERY

EXHIBITION

Skye Nicolas brings forth a collection of 100 digital artworks that undergo his distinctive process of distillation. Masterworks by Cézanne, Renoir, Gauguin, Manet, Seurat, Van Gogh, Degas, Pissarro, and Toulouse-Lautrec are rendered as pixel paintings, inviting the viewer to contemplate intricate and delicate compositional constructs.
As these masterpieces undergo the transformative journey into pixels, a paradox is revealed—one that is both enchantingly accessible and philosophically reflective. This richly vibrant collection resonates with the nostalgia of the artist's childhood, harking back to the 1980s, when he first embarked on explorations of basic computer graphics on early systems like the Apple II. Embracing the limitations of an emulator, these works embody the artist's predilection for utilizing ubiquitous tools in the art production process to thoughtfully explore pertinent topics of appropriation and authorship. "It is truly a privilege to be living in a time when artists are able to reference, remix, modify, and creatively utilize images of such iconic masterworks—all made possible by the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s generous Open Access Policy. The MET’s decision to release these images into the public domain is a step forward in cultivating and encouraging creativity." – Skye Nicolas
ABOUT THE NFT Contract address: <a href="https://etherscan.io/address/0xb8b3b0e420ac16cdc5faeb8a8b0afd26a5a36623">0xb8b3b0e420ac16cdc5faeb8a8b0afd26a5a36623</a> Blockchain: Ethereum Token standard: ERC-721 Metadata: Frozen and decentralized ABOUT THE FLOPPY DISK <meta charset="utf-8">Collectors may also choose to collect a physical piece, as each pixel painting comes with a still image jpeg and txt file written on a 3.5-inch floppy disk, ready-made, labeled, and signed by the artist. Collectors who would like to receive the floppy disk: Please get in touch via email (nfts@expanded.art) with your edition number and your address. EXPANDED.ART will send the floppy disk to you in a padded envelope.

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Skye Nicolas

Quintessence

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EXHIBITION