Of crypto art, the cool factor, and cultural collaborations

Despite the naysayers and prophets of doom heralding the flatlining of the global non-fungible token mania (which last year’s crypto crash proved), it takes the rare few to soldier on, much less still make a roaring success of it. But just who is the chosen one, you might ask? Takashi Murakami of course. His fourth and latest collaboration with Hublot recently revealed the first in a sought-after collection of 13 NFTs linked to physical watches, over a grand launch in the contemporary art capital of the world — New York City

It’s quite possibly one of the coldest weeks New York has experienced in years, with temperatures plunging to well below freezing, but the mood at The Grill, one of the city’s most high-powered steakhouses, is warm, hearty and positively jubilant. Located within the towering Seagram Building designed by architect Mies van der Rohe, with its awe-inspiring and recently restored 1959 Philip Johnson interiors, the Park Avenue skyscraper seemed the perfect place — tony enough and crammed with A-listers — to celebrate iconic artist Takashi Murakami’s birthday on Feb 1.