Bitcoin has already been vividly represented in paintings and other forms of art as reported by Cointelegraph. Now an online art gallery says it is the first of its kind to offer unique art pieces solely for Bitcoin.

Cointemporary is an online platform that showcases artwork created by international artists. It is a "temporary online exhibition of art for Bitcoin". Dedicated to a single art piece for 7 days, Cointemporary displays different works at the end of each week. Valentin Ruhry and Andy Boot are the two artists who run Cointemporary, and occasionally the exhibition also displays artwork created by different artists. The website was created in collaboration with coinfinity.co, and the gallery's main office is in Vienna.

Art for BTC

Cointemporary looks like your average type of gallery. The goal is to display the work of the artist in a wider visual content, free from a hegemonic monetary system where most fine art is embedded. Cointemporary is a platform that showcases modern artistic practice and aims to excite discussion beyond the typical concept of the rhetoric world. This is one of the main reasons Bitcoin is the only payment mode buyers can use to purchase the artwork.

The purpose of the display is to "situate the art within the Internet's visual context and introduce a new audience to the diversity of contemporary art,” reads the press release.

Those who run the website are in charge of selecting the artwork to be displayed on Cointemporary. The pieces will feature an online presentation, and the parties involved will agree to have the art displayed and ready to be sold during a specific time period. The artwork can only be bought with Bitcoin.

Cointemporary & Bitcoin

Why has Cointemporary chosen Bitcoin? Because the creators of the online exhibition - Valentin Ruhry and Andy Boot - strongly believe that the digital currency has the potential of becoming a complementary monetary system. The founders explain their reasoning for choosing Bitcoin in the official press release:

“We believe that Bitcoin has the potential to place an artist’s work in a broader global visual context, free from the dominant monetary system in which contemporary art is embedded. The outcome of this process allows for a degree of autonomy unavailable to contemporary artists and artworks at present.”

Works of art will finally be open to a wider global visual context and the outcome of this whole process is to permit autonomy, which at the moment is difficult to attain for an artist.

Prices for the works are fixed, and they're displayed in BTC. Potential buyers should know that these prices do not fluctuate with exchange rates. Basically, this means Cointemporary is the first online art gallery where a Bitcoin is seen as the sole unit of account.

Bitcoin is a crypto currency or a digital currency that is not issued by any type of government or central bank. It can be traded for services or goods with vendors who agree to accept the digital currency.