This has never happened before in Hungary: for the first time, you can pay with bitcoin at a major art auction

The Virág Judit Gallery, which has been in existence for 28 years, is the first of the leading domestic galleries on the market to allow payment for a work with bitcoin at a major art auction. Péter Weiler’s untitled work will be auctioned on December 8th for a starting price of 550,000 forints, or 0.015 bitcoins.

Not only the payment option, but the work itself is also special, as the piece from Péter Weiler’s series Redesign was created with the help of artificial intelligence (AI), and it is also the first work to be listed on the Bitcoin blockchain, in the form of Ordinals, thus introducing a digital genre to the traditional auction space.

The work that becomes part of the blockchain will be unique and unchangeable, and its ownership can be traced. Its metadata confirms the authenticity of the work and the identity of the owner.Technology neither degrades nor ennobles art, but preserves it in a safe way for eternity. In the case of the largest international auction houses, Christie’s and Sotheby’s, the trading of digital works, even for cryptocurrency, is already common, but this has not been the case in Hungary so far.

“I have been researching the impact of artificial intelligence on our society and art for three years as part of the MOME doctoral program. I feel that while AI has a place in art, its presence can be overwhelming in our everyday lives. We are practically handing over control of our decisions to technology,” said internationally renowned artist Péter Weiler. “I created my painting that is now up for auction with the help of AI. It depicts an iceberg scrawled with graffiti, reflecting on the fact that through urbanization we are breaking into places where we have nothing to look for”

– added Péter Weiler.

“During the nearly three decades of the gallery’s operation, we have always given room to innovation. We have domesticated dedicated contemporary and Zsolnay auctions, revolutionized the online auction process, and now we are taking an important step towards the integration of cryptocurrencies in the traditional, high-value art market”

– said Judit Virág, co-owner of Virág Judit Gallery.

The Virág Judit Gallery will hold its 80th Winter Auction on December 8 at the Budapest Congress Center, where, in addition to the work of Péter Weiler, more than 200 items will be on display, including works by icons of Hungarian painting. An exhibition of the artworks to be auctioned will be held in the gallery between November 26 and December 7, which interested parties can visit for free during opening hours. (Budapest, Falk Miksa utca 30.)