Jeff Koons, a millionaire pop artist, intends to send his artworks to the moon’s surface and keep them there permanently. The project is connected to his first NFT collection.

Jeff Koons, a US artist, has revealed that he will send some of his own sculptures to the moon later this year, after which they will be auctioned on Earth as NFTs (non-fungible tokens), the digital assets that are rattling the contemporary art market.

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“I am very excited to announce my first-ever NFT project, ‘Moon Phases,’ rooted in humanistic and philosophical thought,” he wrote in a Twitter post.

“Space explorations have given us a perspective of our ability to transcend worldly constraints,” he added.

The tweet is accompanied by a video in which a wide-eyed Koons speaks about humanity’s achievements in front of a circular light projection.

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“Space explorations have given us a perspective of our ability to transcend worldly constraints. These ideas are central to my NFT project, which can be understood as a continuation and celebration of humanity’s aspirational accomplishments within and beyond our own planet,” the artist says in the video.

Koons is well-known for his kitschy, massive sculptures such as “Balloon Dog” and “Rabbit.” The latter, one of three identical stainless steel sculptures from 1986, is presently the most expensive piece sold at auction by a living artist, earning $91 million (€82 million) at Christie’s in 2019. The net worth of the American pop musician is projected to be $400 million (€359 million).

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Shoot for the moon

The project’s specifics have yet to be released.

The number and size of the moon-bound sculptures have not yet been confirmed by Pace Gallery in New York City, which represents Koons, but the pieces will be kept permanently on the lunar surface in a translucent, thermally treated small satellite. Intuitive Machines, a private US corporation, is responsible for the spacecraft’s launch.

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The gallery announced plans to place the objects on a region of the moon known as the Oceanus Procellarum, which is located on the planet’s near side, facing the Earth. Travelling the 240,000 miles (386,400 kilometres) between Earth and the Moon takes around three days on average.

The landing place is to be designated as a “lunar heritage site” by the gallery. NASA hopes to conduct a test launch of the Artemis 1 satellite, which will be an unmanned lunar trip, in May. The actual landing with crew and art on board will most likely occur in 2026 at the earliest. The gallery indicated that more information about the lunar-bound pieces will be revealed in the following weeks.

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One giant NFT for mankind

Pace Gallery’s NFT platform Pace Verso will sell one NFT of each sculpture on the moon. According to the gallery’s announcement, “proceeds from one of the first NFT sales will be donated to Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres.”

Some in the media have mocked the venture, with art news site Hypoallergic stating it “these days, outer space has become a go-to destination for people who hope to distinguish themselves as especially rich and awful.”

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While his gallery highlighted that the piece will honour the 50th anniversary of America’s last crewed journey to the Moon, Koons is unlikely to be the final artist to participate in the space race.

According to Vogue, a competing space business, Astrobotic, aims to send artwork by Dubai-based artist Sacha Jafri.