Proof Reveals Artists Behind Grails III NFT Release, Urging Collectors to Appreciate Digital Art Over Hype

After weeks of anticipation, the 20 artists behind non-fungible token (NFT) collective Proof’s Grails III collection were revealed Friday.

The collection features a wide range of notable digital creators, including generative artist Matt Kane; All Seeing Seneca, the digital artist that helped create art for NFT collection Bored Ape Yacht Club; and founder of NFT collection Cyber Brokers Josie Bellini.

Each artist contributed one unique work, available in limited quantities, to the collection.

Earlier this month, Grails III opened its mint passes for collectors to purchase ahead of the artwork reveal. Once the digital art was unveiled, users purchased NFTs until the mint period closed Tuesday.

At the time of writing, the collection had done 199 ETH in sales, or about $318,300, and had a floor price of 2 ETH, or $3,200.

While Twitter users speculated on the mystery names behind the art, Proof says Grails isn't mean to just be about the artists and their historical bodies of work. Rather, the work is focused on allowing a collector to first engage with the artwork before diving deep into the artist's portfolio. Eli Scheinman, head of art at Proof, told CoinDesk that the purpose of the collection is to let the digital work speak for itself rather than by virtue of the creators behind it.

“In our space, and almost always for most collectors, engagement with a piece of art is tightly bundled with the name of the artist behind it and by extension, the value that's ascribed to that work,” said Scheinman. “Grails emanated from this place of trying to disrupt that in some respects and to focus the work and the engagement with that work on the piece from a collector perspective.”

Proof’s Grails III is the third iteration of its mystery NFT compilation series. In February 2022, Grails I dropped, with work from entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk, CryptoPunks and Meebits creator Larva Labs and generative artist Tyler Hobbs. The next edition, Grails II, was released in August and featured works from Art Blocks founder Erick Calderon, Pussy Riot co-founder Nadya Tolokonnikova and generative artist Refik Anadol.

Proof is a prolific player in the NFT space, landing itself on the map for its Moonbirds NFT collection, which raked in $200 million in sales upon its release in April. Earlier this month, the collective signed with United Talent Agency to help expand creative and entertainment opportunities for the Moonbirds brand.