Artue (Habitus Associates), a global online art platform, presents ThankYouX’s first showcase in Korea, titled ThankYouX – Odyssey. The exhibition will be held at Shinsegae’s BOONTHESHOP Cheongdam flagship store from September 7 to October 8, 2023. ThankYouX’s journey as an artist started in street art, and he has now become one of the most sought-after leaders of Web 3.0 art. He focuses on merging traditional art with digital elements to create unique and impactful works. The Seoul showcase will feature nine artworks, including seven new abstract pieces, a video-based oeuvre called My Escape (2023), and Come Find Me (2022), which combines digital and physical mediums. These artworks will be displayed on the entire fourth floor of the exhibition space.
ThankYouX used to work as a graphic designer and started his artistic journey by paying homage to Andy Warhol through a street art movement in 2009. He created stencil tags of Warhol’s image, sprayed them on the streets of Los Angeles, and added “Thank You” and “X” to convey the anonymity of street art. He then moved to the US gallery scene, where he explored geometric patterns and abstract works inspired by movement.
ThankYouX’s ultimate goal is to challenge the traditional art world’s conventions by incorporating blockchain-based technology into his practice. He seeks to create breakthrough artistic experiences that bridge the gap between traditional art and digital media. He gained international attention for his three-part NFT collection, Sound of Color, which he released in collaboration with Oscar-winning Hollywood composer Hans Zimmer in 2021. In 2022, ThankYouX’s solo project, State of the Art, further solidified his ability to seamlessly combine digital and physical elements, proving the use case for art on the blockchain.
In State of the Art, ThankYouX reimagined blockchain technology as a creative medium rather than just a tool for distribution. The collection consisted of four large-scale paintings, each broken up into 400 individual tiles, creating 1,600 unique digital artworks paired with their physical counterpart. Participants received a singular digital tile corresponding with a section of one of the four paintings upon minting, and later, they could claim the identical physical artwork and buy the surrounding tiles in the secondary market to expand the size of their work. The project’s public response surpassed initial expectations, and Artue is thrilled to welcome ThankYouX for his very first showcase of work in Korea, ThankYouX – Odyssey. This showcase is sponsored by Shinsegae Group and blockchain-specialized investment firm Hashed.