- Artist
- CryptoWiener · site ↗
- Based
- Vienna, Austria
- Raster
- raster.art/artist/cryptowiener ↗
- In the set
- geVIENNAratives · 2,048 editions
- Links
- Full bibliography ↗
CryptoWiener is a collective of Viennese artists and technologists who have, since 2018, used blockchain and pixel art to immortalize Austrian cultural icons and everyday life in digital collectibles. Their practice spans hand drawn pixel portraits, generative systems stored fully on chain, metaverse environments and physical exhibitions that blur the boundaries between analog and digital realms.1
Origins and Pixel Portraits
Formed out of curiosity about crypto, blockchain and NFTs, the collective began creating unique hand pixelated portraits of Viennese personalities. From Sigmund Freud to Niki Lauda, these 32 by 32 pixel works captured the spirit of the city and its cultural figures. Early projects like the original CryptoWiener collection established the collective as pioneers in the Austrian crypto art scene, emphasizing playfulness, accessibility and community.2
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Subsequent series such as PixelRebels and CryptoPersonalities expanded this visual language, creating a growing archive of Viennese originals that now numbers in the hundreds.3
Metaverse and Hybrid Exhibitions
CryptoWiener built Little Vienna in Cryptovoxels, a virtual recreation of the city that serves as their metaverse home base. This environment hosted live events, performances and exhibitions. Their landmark PIXELS exhibition at OK Linz (2022-2023) brought these digital works into physical space with 3D prints, QR code portals to the metaverse and live webcam feeds connecting the real gallery to the virtual world.4
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Series outputs · live on Art Blocks ↗
The exhibition allowed visitors to move between worlds, learning to navigate the metaverse while their presence was streamed back into the virtual space.5
Generative Work on Art Blocks
In 2021 the collective released geVIENNAratives on Art Blocks, a fully on chain generative project of 2,048 unique pixel citizens. Each artwork is algorithmically composed yet rooted in the hand drawn aesthetic that defines their practice. The collection celebrates Viennese life through generative variation, creating a living population of algorithmic inhabitants.6
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Projects like Proof of History further explore blockchain milestones through collectible art, while audio NFTs and virtual performances extend their multidisciplinary approach.7
Cultural Impact and Legacy
CryptoWiener has participated in major exhibitions including participation in Snowcash at Kunsthalle Zürich contexts and DYOR. Their work foregrounds the social dimension of crypto art, knowledge sharing and the democratization of digital creation. By maintaining a strong local identity while operating globally on chain, they exemplify how regional culture can thrive in decentralized networks.8
The collective continues to push boundaries between physical and digital, analog and algorithmic, local and global. Their citizenry of pixel figures stands as both archive and living community, a testament to the playful yet serious project of preserving and evolving cultural memory on the blockchain.
Bibliography
For the complete bibliography see the CryptoWiener links page ↗.