# Matt Kane

> Chicago-born artist who writes his own software to paint in layers, known for Gazers, The Door and the Bitcoin-driven Right Place & Right Time.

- Page: https://www.gondi.xyz/artist/matt-kane
- Works on GONDI: 1,232
- Collectors: 453
- About page: https://www.gondi.xyz/artist/matt-kane/about

## About

Matt Kane is an American artist who writes his own software to make layered digital paintings. Born in Chicago, he showed his oil paintings in galleries there in his early twenties, including a solo show, *Family Album*, at Ann Nathan Gallery in 2006. He then spent a decade as a web developer in the Pacific Northwest, teaching himself to program. He credits Mark Rothko's thin layers of color as a lasting influence.

He minted his first NFT, *M87 Black Hole Deconstruction*, on SuperRare in May 2019. In September 2020 the collector Token Angels bought [*Right Place & Right Time*](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/async-art/245.md) on Async Art. The work redraws itself every day from the last 24 hours of Bitcoin's price, with each hour moving one of its 24 layers, and Kane adds [daily editions](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/right-place-right-time-bitcoin-volatility-art.md) that mark days from Bitcoin's history. That year he also led a group of artists pressing platforms to pay resale royalties.

He minted [*CryptoArt Monetization Generation*](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/superrare/20053.md), a tribute to the early Rare Pepe card Homer Pepe, on February 25, 2021, as Christie's opened bidding on Beeple's *Everydays*, and timed its auction to close on March 11, right after Christie's. In October 2021 [*The Door*](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/the-door-matt-kane.md) became the first SuperRare Series, released on his own contract. Grouped together, his generative doors began to look like figures gazing at the moon, which led to [*Gazers*](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/gazers-by-matt-kane.md): 1,000 moons released on Art Blocks Curated in December 2021 that follow the real lunar calendar and keep changing as the moons pass. Sotheby's sold two of them in 2024.

In 2023 he released [*ANONS*](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/anons-by-matt-kane.md) and [*Multitudes*](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/multitudes-by-matt-kane.md), portraits made from his collection of vintage photobooth snapshots. His work has been shown at Kunsthalle Zürich, in Venice during the 2022 Biennale and at the Golden Eagle Art Museum in Nanjing.

## At a glance

- Practice: Generative digital painting with custom software
- Active since: 2004
- Platforms: SuperRare, Async Art, Art Blocks
- Education: B.S. in Education, Northern Illinois University (2003)

## Notable works

- 2021: [Gazers](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/gazers-by-matt-kane.md), Art Blocks Curated
- 2021: [CryptoArt Monetization Generation](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/superrare/20053.md)
- 2020: [Right Place & Right Time](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/right-place-right-time-bitcoin-volatility-art.md), Async Art
- 2021: [The Door](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/the-door-matt-kane.md), SuperRare

## Top sales

- 2021: [CryptoArt Monetization Generation](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/superrare/20053.md), 320 ETH ($1.24M)
- 2023: [Gazers #751](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/gazers-by-matt-kane/215000751.md), 45 ETH (about $102,600)
- 2020: [Right Place & Right Time](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/async-art/245.md), 262 ETH ($101,100)
- 2025: [Gazers #710](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/gazers-by-matt-kane/215000710.md), 28.5 WETH (about $80,400)
- 2025: [Gazers #228](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/gazers-by-matt-kane/215000228.md), 15 ETH (about $64,500)
- 2021: [M87 Black Hole Deconstruction #9](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/superrare/25435.md), Bonhams, $62,812.50

## Exhibitions

- 2022-2023: [DYOR, a group show curated by Nina Roehrs](https://mattkane.com/about-resume/), Kunsthalle Zürich, Zurich
- 2022-2023: [Not Only RGB, a group show with Gazers curated by Chiara Braidotti and Sia Pineschi](https://mattkane.com/about-resume/), Museum of Contemporary Digital Art (MoCDA), Online
- 2022: [Coded Elegance, a group show curated by Sarah Meyohas](https://mattkane.com/about-resume/), 1stDibs, Online
- 2022: [MetaVanity, during the 59th Venice Biennale](https://mattkane.com/about-resume/), Vanity Fair and Valuart, Venice
- 2022: [Decentral Art Pavilion](https://mattkane.com/about-resume/), Venice
- 2022: [Icons of Crypto Art](https://mattkane.com/about-resume/), The 721, Dubai
- 2021: [The Gateway, a group show by nft now and Christie's during Miami Art Week](https://mattkane.com/about-resume/), Christie's and nft now, Miami, FL
- 2021: [If Time Is Money, Are ATMs Time Machines, a group show curated by KADIST](https://mattkane.com/about-resume/), Golden Eagle Art Museum, Nanjing
- 2021: [Natively Digital: A Curated NFT Sale, with Meules after Claude Monet](https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2021/natively-digital-a-curated-nft-sale-2/meules-after-claude-monet), Sotheby's, New York, London and Hong Kong
- 2021: [Virtual Niche, a group show curated by Bohan Sun](https://mattkane.com/about-resume/), UCCA Lab, Beijing
- 2018: [Prime Time: F00TW3RK, a GIF party](https://mattkane.com/about-resume/), Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Chicago, IL
- 2006: [Matt Kane: Family Album, solo show](https://mattkane.com/about-resume/), Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL

## Recognition

- 2022: [NFT100 list](https://mattkane.com/about-resume/), nft now
- 2021: [Top 100 Notable People in Blockchain](https://mattkane.com/projects/this-is-cryptoart/), Cointelegraph
- 2020: [Most Innovative NFT, winner](https://mattkane.com/about-resume/), NFT Awards

## Press & resources

- 2025: [ARTnews Polled 10 Digital Art Experts to Find Out Their Favorite Digital Art Works](https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/best-digital-art-works-picked-by-experts-1234745683/), ARTnews
- 2024: [Token Supremacy Presents a Sensationalized Version of the NFT Boom](https://www.artnews.com/art-news/reviews/token-supremacy-zachary-small-book-review-1234709631/), ARTnews
- 2023: [Pioneering generative artist propelled by personal tragedy: Matt Kane, NFT Creator](https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/generative-artist-matt-kane-nft/), Cointelegraph Magazine
- 2022: [Time On The Blockchain](https://www.rightclicksave.com/article/time-on-the-blockchain), Right Click Save
- 2021: [In Conversation with Matt Kane](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/gazers-by-matt-kane.md), Art Blocks
- 2020: [NFT Digital Art That Changes With Bitcoin Price Volatility Sold for Record $101,000](https://news.bitcoin.com/nft-digital-art-that-changes-with-bitcoin-price-volatility-sold-for-record-101000/), Bitcoin.com News

## Milestones

- 2006: [Solo show Family Album at Ann Nathan Gallery in Chicago](https://mattkane.com/about-resume/), Ann Nathan Gallery
- 2019: [Mints his first NFT, M87 Black Hole Deconstruction, on SuperRare](https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/generative-artist-matt-kane-nft/)
- 2020: [Token Angels buys Right Place & Right Time on Async Art](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/async-art/245.md)
- 2020: [Leads a group of artists pressing platforms to pay resale royalties](https://www.artnews.com/art-news/reviews/token-supremacy-zachary-small-book-review-1234709631/)
- 2021: [Mints CryptoArt Monetization Generation as Christie's opens bidding on Beeple's Everydays](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/superrare/20053.md)
- 2021: [Releases The Door, the first SuperRare Series on an artist's own contract](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/the-door-matt-kane.md)
- 2021: [Releases Gazers, 1,000 lunar calendars, on Art Blocks Curated](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/gazers-by-matt-kane.md)
- 2023: [Releases ANONS and Multitudes, both photobooth portraits](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/anons-by-matt-kane.md)
- 2024: [Sotheby's sells Gazers #278 and #453 in Grails Part V](https://www.gondi.xyz/collections/gazers-by-matt-kane/215000278.md)

## Links

- [mattkane.com](https://mattkane.com)
- [gazers.art](https://gazers.art)
- [anons.art](https://anons.art)
- [X](https://x.com/MattKaneArtist)
- [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/mattkaneartist)
- [mattkane.com/about-resume](https://mattkane.com/about-resume/)

Data from GONDI (https://www.gondi.xyz), Oct 27, 2026.