Centre Pompidou, the largest modern art museum in Europe, revealed on  February 10 that it will display popular NFTs, like CryptoPunks and Autoglyphs, as part of its exhibition on the connection between blockchain and art. 

Specifically, a total of 18 NFTs by 13 artists will be displayed this spring, including CryptoPunk #110 and Autoglyph #25 which were previously donated to the museum. NFTs by Jill Magid, Jonas Lund, and Rafael Rozendaal will also be displayed at the exhibition.

This exhibition will be a history-maker, as this would be the first time the focal point of the Parisian art world will introduce NFTs into its collection. The Centre Pompidou hosts fabulous artworks, such as Marcel Duchamp’s 1917 Fountain, Louise Bourgeois’ 1992 Precious Liquids, Andy Warhol’s 1986 Self-Portrait in Drag, Thomas Hirschhorn’s 2005 Outgrowth, and Yves Klein’s 1960 Blue Monochrome (IKB 3).

The director of the French National Museum of Modern Art, Xavier Rey, commented on the Centre Pompidou’s efforts to seek out the relationship between blockchain and digital art:

“Web3 is an innovative territory that artists have now seized upon to create original and daring work, and this collection reaffirms our support for artists in their conquest of new means of expression, which is the foundation of modern art.“ 

Yuga Labs is responsible for the donation of Cryptopunks #110 to the museum. This move is part of the company’s Punks Legacy Project, which aims to position CryptoPunks assets in notable museums all over the world. Last November, the project started with the donation of CryptoPunk #305 to the Institute of Contemporary Art in Miami.

Another NFT set to be displayed by the Centre Pompidou comes from the rare Autoglyphs collection. The Ethereum-based NFT collection, which was developed by the original creator of CryptoPunks, Larva Labs, features a total of 512 assets. Autoglyph #25 was donated to the epic museum by Larva Labs.

The curators of the exhibition commented on how the NFT space has grown from being homogenous and highly publicized to welcoming more complex projects which have drawn the attention of the museum. Nowadays, the NFT art ecosystem is heavily impacted by the actions of museums.