By combining mediums like paint and screens, ThankYouX, a Los Angeles-based artist, is attempting to bridge the gap between the traditional and digital art worlds. His latest collection of physical, electronic and hybrid artwork will go on view this November in a Sotheby's exhibition.
ThankYouX, aka Ryan Wilson, earned his pseudonym during his early days as a California street artist. While adorning buildings and street signs with stencils, the artist signed his work with a “thank you” and the letter “x.” After local blogs put the words together while discussing the creator behind the anonymous works, the name stuck.
With a background in traditional artwork, ThankYouX became known for his geometric and abstract murals. Admirers included the likes of Paul McCartney, former Paramount president Amy Powell and Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel, the latter of whom commissioned the artist to create portraits of innovators for his company headquarters.
When the non-fungible token (NFT) craze hit, ThankYouX decided to go all in. By 2020, he began experimenting with artwork on the blockchain. He found continued success in the digital realm, collaborating with composer Hans Zimmer the following year on a series of NFTs for Phillips auction house. And in 2022, the artist helped curate a collection of both digital and physical artwork for Sotheby’s during its Contemporary Day Auction in London.“I love digital art and the attention that it’s been getting in the past few years,” ThankYouX told Observer. “More than ever before, it’s on the map as a real art form.”
The way the traditional and digital can intersect is also the focus of ThankYouX’s next collaboration with Sotheby’s. The upcoming solo show at the auction house’s gallery in Beverly Hills will not only include large-scale paintings but also digital compositions and a canvas with an embedded screen.
The exhibition is named “inertia” in reference to the painting’s abstract depictions of motion, according to ThankYouX. “The winds blow the clouds one way, the currents of the ocean move different ways, the earth and the moon revolving around the sun,” he said. “I wanted to try and capture what that looked like in my eyes.”
A new type of collaboration for auction houses
The upcoming presentation constitutes one of Sotheby’s most significant shows of primary artwork, according to the auction house, which in recent years has been attempting to work more directly with creators. In Sept. 2022, it launched “Artist’s Choice,” a new primary market sales channel that aims to sell works directly from artists and galleries. And in May, it launched a secondary marketplace for digital artwork and NFTs that will see artists receive resale royalties through smart contracts.
Sotheby’s isn’t the only auctioneer granting more control to artists when it comes to the sale of their work. Earlier this year, Phillips announced Dropshop, an e-commerce program that partners with emerging and blue-chip artists to offer limited-edition retail releases to the public. Its inaugural drop saw the Australian CJ Hendry sell out a series of 100 bronze crowns.
