Twentysomethings: Works and NFTs from the Fabio Sandoval Collection

The first exhibition of its kind in Central Florida features a range of mediums, including digital NFT works.

Orlando – January 5, 2023 — The Orlando Museum of Art is excited to open its new exhibition, Twentysomethings. This show features the private collection of Fabio Sandoval, a twenty-five-year-old local collector who has been collecting for the past six years. Sandoval’s approach to collecting is unique because, despite his young age, he already has sophisticated taste and a sharp eye for discovering emerging artists. He has also made the bold choice of embracing NFT collecting from its inception. Sandoval is actively investing in the work of artists in his age group and contributing to enhancing the sense of community arising from the NFT art world.

Twentysomethings will present works by established and promising international emerging artists. The works are primarily figurative and span various mediums: oil on canvas, spray paint on steel, cement, textile, wood, found objects, and digital NFT works. Artists in the collection are from diverse ethnic backgrounds, with 23 of them being People of Color. The collection includes the work of several rising stars in the NFT community, including former baseball player-turned-NFT artist Micah Johnson. Johnson took the art world by storm when he created narrative based NFT works recounting the story of AKU, a little Black boy aspiring to become an astronaut.

Following the historic auction at Christie’s on March 11, 2021, where an entire series of NFTs sold for more than sixty-nine million dollars, the art world has been changed forever. NFTs have become the “canvases of a living, breathing document that changes over time,” says Mike “Beeple” Winkelman, an NFT artist. NFTs allow a greater sense of connection between the artist and the collector. This synergy, which happens instantly from the time of an NFT drop, transfer, or purchase, feeds a new segment of the art world, building up emerging artists on par with their collectors.

The exhibition is daring and groundbreaking. This is OMA’s first foray into presenting NFTs. It is also the first time the museum will present work from a collector in his twenties, with most of the featured artists also in their twenties. “As museum curators, it is our responsibility to be aware of new developments in the art world, including what is happening in the Metaverse.” remarks OMA Curator Coralie Claeysen-Gleyzon “NFTs have enabled digital artists to market their work to collectors internationally without the help of the perceived ‘gatekeepers’ of the art world, namely, museum curators and gallerists. This unmediated connection between the creator and the consumer of art is fascinating, along with the fact that NFTs provide ironclad provenance, a deed of ownership, and provable scarcity to the digital artwork.”

Twentysomethings opens Saturday, January 27, and will be on view through Sunday, May 7. The Orlando Museum of Art is open Tuesday through Sunday. For hours and admission information, visit https://omart.org/visit/tickets/.

Contact Maureen Walsh, Marketing and Communications Manager, for more information and press photos. Email mwalsh@omart.org or call 407-896-4231 ext. 233.