The Sky's the Limit
When art and science enter the crypto space

On the occasion of Solimán López' upcoming project Celeste at maat, in October, the artist will be debating with Michael Benson* (artist, writer, and filmmaker) and Pauline Foessel (curator, Artpool founder and CEO). In a hybrid talk, moderated by Foessel, the two creative practitioners will be unpacking how it is to work at the intersection of art and science, and discussing how NFT technology is boosting artistic creativity.

Note: Guests marked with asterisk (*) will participate online

Solimán López (Spain, 1981) is a contemporary artist specialised in art, science, sociology, and technology. Founder of the Harddiskmuseum, OLEA bio cryptocurrency, and Innovation director at ESAT. His artistic practice includes work with artificial intelligence, biotechnology and DNA, electronics, interactivity, and 3D. His work has been exhibited internationally at events, art centres and museums including  OI Futuro - Biennial of Digital Art in Brazil, ZKM Karlsruhe (Germany), the Chronus Art Center (Shanghai), Centre Pompidou (France), Hermitage Saint Petersburg (Russia), Art Centre Nabi-ISEA19 (South Korea), Ars Santa Monica (Spain), Biennale Nemo Paris (France), Nuit Blanche Paris (France), CAC Málaga (Spain), CCCC Valencia (Spain), CAB Burgos (Spain), CEART Fuenlabrada (Spain), Es Baluard Mallorca (Spain), Cigarreras Alicante  (Spain), IVAM Valencia (Spain), MACBA Buenos Aires, Parque Explora Medellín (Colombia),  Museo, Exploratorio Bogotá (Colombia), CODAME Festival (Los Angeles), Ukrainian Digital Art Biennial, Sonar Plus, among others.

Michael Benson work focuses on the intersection of art and science. An artist, writer, and filmmaker, in the last decade Benson has staged a series of large-scale shows of digitally reconstructed planetary landscape photography in major museums internationally. His last book, Space Odyssey: Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke, and The Making of a Masterpiece, was published by Simon & Schuster on the 50th anniversary of the release of 2001: A Space Odyssey in April 2018. Benson has contributed to many publications, including The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and Rolling Stone. He’s currently using SEM technologies (scanning electron microscopes) to focus on natural design at sub-millimeter scales for a project titled Nanocosmos, which he’s realizing at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa.
Michael Benson is a Fellow of the New York Institute of the Humanities, a Weizmann Institute Advocate for Curiosity, and a recent Visiting Scholar at the MIT Media Lab.

Pauline Foessel is the curator and entrepreneur behind Artpool whose extensive work as director at art institutions, galleries and studios has shaped her understanding of the art landscape globally. Formerly known as Art Curator Grid, Artpool is the first curator driven NFT platform powered by a vetted global network of art professionals to further Foessel’s mission of connecting artists, art organizations and collectors. Artpool simplifies fundraising by
harnessing blockchain technology coupled with a playful and inclusive user experience. Beyond shaping the art tech space, Foessel’s work as co-director at Underdogs Gallery and her previous directorship of Alexandre Farto’s Vhils Studio placed Lisbon on the global map of contemporary public art while promoting a generation of urban artists. In addition to her work in Lisbon, Foessel, a native of Grenoble, France, has held management and development positions at Galerie Magda Danysz in Paris and Shanghai and at the Hong Kong Contemporary Art (HOCA) Foundation.