MIAMI–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Kristin Simmons, the sassy social satirist whose provocative and hilarious style has earned her a reputation as one of New York’s hottest young artists, has been tapped to help launch a groundbreaking new tool for creatives, Alteon LaunchPad.
Exclusively available for the Opera Crypto browser, Alteon LaunchPad allows advertisers of all backgrounds to create NFTs instantly by dragging and dropping media files into the browser window. Users don’t need any special knowledge of Web3 – Alteon LaunchPad is designed for anyone to explore the busy, burgeoning world of digital collectibles.
Simmons was commissioned to create an original work to fill the background of the Alteon LaunchPad upon release in Q1 2023. Her work mixes different styles and influences, matching the eclectic style that has made NFTs famous. In the future, the LaunchPad team will rotate her art to spotlight a new content creator each month, building and celebrating an excited community of diverse Web3 creators.
Over the past year, she has watched the NFT boom and bust cycle with skepticism, believing that true art is deeply dependent on its medium. But as she explained on stage at BitBasel, once she learned more about the underlying technology, she became excited about the storytelling possibilities and agreed to create something unique to the digital landscape that couldn’t be replicated elsewhere.
“I came from the advertising world and the last thing I wanted to do was look at a screen when I got home to work on my own artwork,” Simmons said on stage, in front of an audience of several hundred people. “What helped me understand NFTs was realizing what digital art can do that a painting or print can’t: it can change, it can move; When you’re connected to the blockchain, you have a sense of security, providence and ownership that you didn’t have before.”
Also on stage during the special BitBasel event were Miami Mayor Francis Suarez; Matt Cimaglia, CEO of Alteon.io; Susie Batt, head of crypto at Opera; Andrea Virgin, president of the Center for Art and Innovation; and Samuel Armes, president of the Florida Blockchain Business Association.
Alteon LaunchPad debuts in January 2023. To download Opera Crypto Browser, click here.
About Kristin Simmons
Kristin Simmons uses paint, graphics and mixed media to provide a running commentary on herself and her contemporaries. Her work, which focuses on hedonistic pleasures – and especially the sheer pleasure of consumption – is as sharp, provocative and unapologetically smart as it is empathetic and vulnerable. She is the recipient of several prestigious awards, including the Orra White Hitchcock Award and the National Endowment of the Arts Award. Simmons earned a dual Bachelor of Arts degree in art history and visual arts from Columbia University. She has had six solo exhibitions and has been featured in a number of group exhibitions, including the 2016 Whitney Biennial at the Whitney Museum in New York.
