An LA and London-based artist is disrupting the industry by selling a whole collection of work via social media platforms and getting paid completely in cryptocurrency.
The world is a-changing. This is probably most evident is in the technology sector. With the continued rise of social media, it is now easier than ever to connect with people all over the world. While this is great for staying in touch with friends and family, it is also a clever way to expand your business.
Goodbye Art Galleries?
A recent Express article showed how a British artist is doing just that. Lincoln Townley is a firm favorite of some famous names, with the likes of Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Caine, and the Godfather himself, Al Pacino, purchasing his striking pieces. However, if you’re hoping to see some of Townley’s work at a fancy gallery, you’re out of luck.
The artist prefers to make use of platforms such as WhatsApp to sell his pictures, a tactic that has proven very successful. He managed to sell an entire collection using this method over just one weekend. Being quite the disrupter, Townley believes that by using this peer-to-peer method, he is cutting out the middleman, or in this case, galleries.
Payment in Cryptocurrency
It’s no surprise then that Townley is a crypto believer, actually preferring payment via virtual currency. In fact, his weekend haul was paid for entirely in cryptocurrency. Townley said:
There is no two ways about it. The people who invest in Bitcoin are without doubt speculators – they are looking at something with more of a risk. But that’s why I thought to myself, these are the sort of people that would be interested in purchasing my art as an extension to their investment portfolio.
He emphasized the positive impact that technology can have on the art industry, saying:
The best thing is it fuels my belief that galleries are secondary to an artist’s success – they just need to look at galleries as another string to their bow. There are so many other ways to get sales with technology.
The artist is also providing a way for crypto holders to spend their virtual money on real-world products:
They are looking for a tangible asset they can put this newfound currency into.
In addition, Townley is not overly concerned with the negative comments about the industry including price volatility and the drastic decrease in market cap value compared to December 2017. He concluded:
I think there is a huge market for expansion, with it being something that is going to inflate in value. Therefore, inflating in value will give you more of a vehicle to purchase art in the future.
Cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology are continuing to make strides in different industries all over the world. We recently reported on how it can impact the future of football and how it will be used to aid developing countries in trading.
Do you think that art galleries will become a relic of the past as the crypto industry continues to grow? Let us know in the comments below!
Images courtesy of Pixabay and Shutterstock.
