Picasso family members weren’t happy to learn that 30-year-old Florian Picasso, a DJ and great-grandson of Pablo, was launching a collection of NFTs inspired by one of the famed artist’s ceramic bowls.
A lawyer for the Picasso Administration, which manages works held by three of the artist’s children and two grandchildren, said in January that any so-called Picasso NFT release would be “counterfeit” because the administration’s head, Claude Picasso, hadn’t approved it.
But now, Florian’s mother and collaborator on the NFTs, Marina Picasso, says she and her son are just getting started.
In a new video recorded at the family’s vacation villa in Cannes, Marina announced that “we intend to continue producing NFTs.” The family feud was based on a “misunderstanding,” she added, and now even her uncle Claude has “given the NFTs his blessing.”
“Honestly, all we wanted to do, especially my son, Florian, was simply to pay tribute to my grandfather, Pablo Picasso.”
The project started when Florian, who is “passionate about NFTs,” introduced his mother to the concept.
“I looked into it and I find that it’s a modern technology that allows us to connect with art,” she said.
Florian Picasso’s NFT Visage Rouge. Courtesy of Florian Picasso.
Together, they produced a collection of more than 1,000 animated NFTs featuring a grinning, googly-eyed sun whose halo of light spins around in circles.
Titled “Man and the Beat,” the collection is set against an emphatically optimistic soundtrack by John Legend, Nas, and Florian. “Hello to tomorrow (hello, hello) / Can’t wait to get started (hello, hello),” Legend croons in the chorus. At one point, Nas breaks in to rap: “On a yacht, yeah, everything top-tier, Pablo Picasso, art, and Nas here.”
The NFTs were offered for sale on Nifty Gateway, with a disclaimer clarifying that they were the work of Florian and Marina Picasso, not Pablo.
Florian previously told Artnet News that he believes his great-grandfather would have approved of the project.
“Evolution played a huge role in Picasso’s personal and artistic development and we believe that NFTs mirror that as they begin to infiltrate our society,” he said. “He would be interested in its abstract influence on the art world.”
Marina didn’t give many hints about what the pair had in store next, but said: “we will, by inspiration, project even the great artists of the century towards this technology.”
Watch Marina Picasso’s full video statement below.
