SuperRare is a curated marketplace for buying, selling, and collecting unique, single-edition NFT (non-fungible token) digital artworks. Each artwork is created
by an artist on SuperRare and tokenized as a digital item that can be owned, displayed and sold. SuperRare deals in the intersection between technology and art and each artwork is secured by cryptography on the blockchain, which acts as a digital ledger that proves ownership of the artwork . Currently, all transactions on the marketplace are transacted using Ether, the native cryptocurrency to the Ethereum network.
In May 2022, SuperRare opened its first-ever physical gallery in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood. With a run time of over just three months, the pop-up SuperRare Gallery provides a space to convene digital artists, collectors and enthusiasts to experience digital art in an immersive environment. The gallery also serves to broaden the public’s knowledge of the digital art market and to “bridge the gap between the digital and real worlds,” said SuperRare Director of Finance Thomas Wu.
“Only a small portion of the population knows how to buy an NFT or even what it is,” Wu said. “So, we see this gallery as essential for educating the public. People can come in, ask questions and our staff can help guide them. At the end of the day, we want people to understand that digital art is just another art form, but with a different canvas.”
A physical location also provides the opportunity to showcase pieces on vibrant display canvases-bringing the beauty and detail of digital art to life. As one of the display technology partners of the SuperRare Gallery, Planar supplied a rental solution consisting of an 8-foot-wide, 8-foot-high (5x5) Planar® CarbonLight™ VX
Series LED video wall with a 2.6mm pixel pitch (CLI VX2.6).
Located just inside the front entrance, the large Planar CarbonLight LED installation catches people’s attention, according to Wu. “The front facade of the gallery is all glass and anybody walking by is instantly drawn to the LED video wall,” he said. “It sparks people’s interest to come inside. We leave it on 24x7 and at night the display is bright and gorgeous.”
Wu noted that one of the benefits of LED video wall technology is the freedom to design a display in any preferred shape and size. “Working with LED panels gives us the flexibility to create what we want based on our vision,” Wu said. “For this gallery, we specified a square design for the Planar LED video wall-perfect
for taking pictures which we want visitors to do. It's also an optimal size for the space and not too big to overwhelm people or prevent them from seeing the artwork in its entirety.”
For the gallery’s opening night, SuperRare hosted an event and selected an animated digital art piece for the Planar CarbonLight VX Series LED video wall. “Visitors were attracted to it,” Wu said. “Animation adds another layer, which is more powerful on a big LED screen. People can also view it from multiple angles and the artwork still looks perfect. It left a great impression and exceeded our expectations on every level.”
