In collaboration with Martin Grasser, Hungarian artist Vera Molnár's computer-generated non-fungible token (NFT) collection, "Themes and Variations," sold out in less than an hour at Sotheby's Netherlands auction, fetching a total of 631 ether, equivalent to around $1.2 million. The collection comprises 500 collectibles created through an algorithmic combination of 170 color palettes and recursive grids, expanding on Molnár's 2% d'ordre generation protocol, which delved into the potential of grids and the randomness of colors. In addition, Molnár incorporated The appearance of letters (N, F, T) in the collection, using them as a reference for the NFT technology vehicle.
Born in 1924, Vera Molnár was an early pioneer of computer-generated imagery, beginning her practice in 1959. Having taught at the University of Paris and exhibited her work in major European exhibitions, Molnár ventured into the NFT space in 2022 . She considers this collaboration with Sotheby's and Art Blocks as the culmination of her decades-long exploration of how systems and computers can generate artistic output, providing a new way to create unique abstractions through controlled randomness programmed by machines, reflecting the essence of algorithms. The collection's secondary market has seen significant activity, with Themes and Variations' base price surging over 100% shortly after the sale concluded.
