The contemporary British artist Lincoln Townley has made history by selling an entire artwork collection via social media platform WeChat, taking payment in cryptocurrency. The contemporary artist regularly embraces the use of social media platforms to promote and sell his work, shaking up the global art world through his ‘cut out the middleman’ approach for brokering transactions.
The artist stated that he believed cryptocurrency speculators would naturally have an appetite for investments with more risk that could be used to diversify portfolios, making them the ideal market for his latest collection.
Financial experts in the art arena – such as Matthew Ledvina, who works with art as an asset and art held by trustees – are likely to follow developments closely as the contemporary artist continually seeks new ways to market and sell his work using internet platforms and new technologies.
Digital Sales
Townley regularly sidesteps traditional auction houses and galleries, preferring instead to market his collections digitally through social media channels such as WeChat and WhatsApp. What makes the system even more unusual is that his preferred method of payment is via cryptocurrency. Many of his customers make their purchases digitally and do not even see the physical piece of artwork purchased until they receive it.
Townley stated that this method of marketing and sales fuels his belief that an artist’s success is no longer dependent on galleries. He added that galleries were secondary, another string to the bow but not the be all and end all. The artist, who was born in London and is based in both London and Los Angeles, has built up an online community of digital art enthusiasts who are able to make purchases by contacting him directly through social media rather than relying on the services of art brokers.
In the infographic attachment, you can find more information about some of the best websites for selling art directly online without needing to use the services of a broker.
Ready Market
Appetite for risk is just one reason why Townley believes cryptocurrency speculators are an ideal market for his work. Some enthusiasts of digital currency investment are already art investors, explained the artist, with those who were most keen being the ones who were searching for a way to diversify their portfolio of digital investments. Many cryptocurrency speculators are on the look-out for tangible assets that they can put their digital currencies into. You can learn more about the how cryptocurrencies work in the PDF attachment to this post.
Despite the volatility of cryptocurrencies, Townley believes that the value of Bitcoin will inflate as the market expands, giving investors more of a vehicle for future art purchases.
About the Artist
Lincoln Townley was born in 1972 in England and currently works as a self-taught artist. Prior to entering the art world, Townley had a career as a PR manager and celebrity publicist and authored a book, titled ‘The Hunger’. You can learn more about The Hunger by watching the short video attachment to this post.
Landmark moments in his career have included commissions from BAFTA Los Angeles and Mastercard, along with exhibits of his work in the Royal Academy. Celebrity patrons of Townley’s artwork include Jack Nicholson, Charlie Sheen, Russel Brand, Al Pacino and Michael Caine, who famously dubbed the artist ‘the next Andy Warhol’.
Townley is married to Denise Welch and is in his third year as a resident Los Angeles BAFTA artist. Townley’s work is inspired by the chaos of life that drives the desire to succeed.