EthBoy NFT Painting Continues to Evolve With Fourth Edition

EthBoy, the non-fungible token (NFT) painting of Vitalik Buterin in a harlequin suit, is minting another edition on Tuesday in celebration of the Ethereum co-founder’s birthday.

Trevor Jones, the artist behind the NFT collection, is releasing the fourth edition of the generative artwork done in the style of Pablo Picasso’s "Paul as Harlequin." The latest animated edition, titled TRANSCEND, was done in collaboration with Grammy Award-winning DJ Sasha and will be exhibited on Oxford Street in London.

The NFT is part of a larger collection titled ETHEREAL, in which Jones partnered with artists Alotta Money and DJ Don Diablo to release a new Ethboy iteration with NFT platform Async Art every six months over the next five years.

Async Art allows creators to make digital art that changes over time and responds to external data and stimuli. Each day, the painting changes due to factors such as the price of Ethereum, network gas fees and more. The latest edition, minted as a one-of-one, celebrates Buterin’s birthday on Jan. 31.

Jones said in a press release that the goal of the collection is to create a narrative tapestry of Buterin’s life.

“Many in the Web3 community think in terms of months rather than years and therefore this half-decade-long collaborative project will undoubtedly become a historic work of art and a grail for the 10 collectors and partners involved,” said Jones.

Jones told CoinDesk that since releasing the first chapter of the collection the NFT space has experienced a host of changes, including chilling market conditions and new digital art trends.

"AI and generative art have been a hot topic in the last year, and open editions have made a huge comeback just recently, although there is still demand for 1/1 art and artists," said Jones. "The collapse of FTX has had an impact of course, but the NFT art space itself is still vibrant and engaging."

Jones partnered with artist Alotta Money to create the first edition of EthBoy in 2020, which sold for 260 ETH, worth $141,536 at the time.

UPDATE (Jan. 31, 14:19 UTC): Added additional comments from Trevor Jones.