Artory Celebrates the Registration of Cryptographically Signed Artworks at Faurschou Foundation New York
On December 17, Artory celebrated the continued commitment to creating a digital ecosystem where art and objects are securely registered, as well as a live cryptographic signing and registration of works by artist Christian Lemmerz together with Khora Contemporary. The event was hosted by the Faurschou Foundation, which is expanding its global footprint to New York with a new 12,000 square foot exhibition space in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
The Faurschou Foundation was established in 2011 by Jens Faurschou — a Danish collector, art advisor, and philanthropist — to champion artists and foster cross-cultural dialogue and exchange internationally, particularly between the East and the West. Together, Jens and his wife, Masha Faurschou, also co-founded Khora Contemporary, which was created to become a bridge between the artists and virtual reality developers.
“By embracing the newest technology and helping artists unleash their imaginative vision, Khora Contemporary is a true pioneer within this space, which is why Artory is very excited about the opportunity to have artists from Khora Contemporary cryptographically sign their artworks” said Nanne Dekking, CEO and Founder of Artory.
This latest development in Artory’s offerings follows the news in November of its partnership with Winston Art Group, one of the world’s most trusted appraisal and advisory firms. For the first time, art buyers can receive the same access as experienced collectors to the vetting and appraisal services of Winston Art Group at no cost, leveraging the cutting-edge technology of Artory, to instill a higher level of confidence in collecting. Once vetted, these artworks are recognized with an endorsement and digital signature from Winston Art Group. Each certified registration is cryptographically signed and stored on the blockchain, and each owner is provided a digital certificate to prove ownership. Owners remain completely unknown to both Artory and the public but are able to engage with Winston Art Group through Artory’s end-to-end encrypted messaging system. Registered artworks are added to the public Registry as endorsed and verified, making them stand out among millions of unverified artworks on the Artory Registry.
For pre-existing artworks, Artory’s unique process of hashing and securing credible artwork data on public blockchains leverages the expertise of auction houses, galleries, museums, and manufacturers, while making their statements immutable and accessible to all. Private information about the owners, on the other hand, remains completely unknown to Artory and the public. This tracking, along with the public nature of the registry and all data timestamped and secured by blockchain, will usher in a new era of transparency and credibility, benefiting both the market and artists.
There is a unique value for digital art. Through cryptographic signatures, artists are able to release limited editions of artworks because the registration process tracks the data and provenance of each unique print or copy of the code — protecting collectors while also increasing sale potential. With Artory’s blockchain-secured certificates, art buyers are reassured that the code or files of the digital artwork are unique.
Jens Faurschou, founder of Faurschou Foundation and co-founder of Khora Contemporary, said, “Nanne and I have worked closely in the many years that Nanne was active in the art market. I have witnessed Artory form the day Nanne started the company with his team in 2016 every step in becoming a genuinely transformative company and a pioneer in bringing real innovation to the art world. I am a firm believer that artworks registered in the Artory Registry will be recognized as trusted artworks.”
“Yet another transformative use case for Artory and their utilization of blockchain technology is the unique opportunity for living artists to cryptographically sign off on authorship and track their works moving forward,” notes Masha Faurschou, co-founder of Khora Contemporary.
For more photos by Richard Koek from the event, visit our Facebook page.
