NEW YORK, NY.- Olive Allen, the crypto art pioneer, announced her first ever solo-show at Postmasters Gallery in New York City, which will take place from April 30 - May 28, 2022.

Allen, who recently made headlines for burning her Russian passport in solidarity with the people of Ukraine and NFTing it to support humanitarian efforts in the war ravaged country, has been at the forefront of art and blockchain technology since 2016. She has worked with esteemed organizations like Time Magazine and the World Wildlife Fund, and will be presenting a unique selection of new works shown for the first time in New York City this April.

As one of the earliest adopters of blockchain technology, Allen was part of the first ever drops on sites like Nifty Gateway and Super Rare; she sold the first ever NFT at Art Basel in Switzerland in 2021; and is credited with introducing NFTs to artists like Kenny Schachter. She has carved a niche for herself as an artist not only interested in but also critical of crypto, using her voice and platform to call for greater gender equality in the space, all the while developing a thought provoking aesthetic around timely topics and themes. In her Sheeplezzz Series, Allen reflects on how the blind optimism and crypto-utopian ethos of the NFT space can, and often does, manifest in problematic ways.

Titled “Welcome to the Metaverse” and transforming all 4500 square feet of the gallery space, the exhibition at Postmasters will be the culmination of Allen’s creative efforts to date. It will consist of new works that span sculpture, installation, video and digital art, extending the artist’s long-standing interest in merging physical IRL presence with purely digital works, a media-neutral exhibition that emphasizes how the role of new technologies like blockchain have become firmly entrenched within the history and ecosystem of 21st century culture.

Olive believes the work produced and released should be of the now. In the age of rapid social changes, of exponential technological growth, what are we looking forward to as humanity?

Metaverse is not just the popular catchphrase and VC investment thesis, but truly is an escapist dream. A chance for a new life, a chance to restart. In this new world you can be anything, gravity does not hold you back. There are seemingly endless possibilities and multitude of paths. The Q is are they of your own creation or you’re simply following someone else’s agenda.

Everyone has a chance to design their world…or it’s merely an illusion & Metaverse will be run by corporations seeking profits & feeding us entertainment in hopes to sell us products we don’t need. Despite the seriousness of the subject, there is still room for humor and childlike excitement. I choose to believe in the world of unlimited possibilities and curious juxtapositions.

Olive Allen’s work has in the past been featured in the New York Times, Artnet News, La Repubblica, the Art Newspaper, CoinDesk, Cointelegraph, Decrypt, Whitewall, FAD Magazine and many others.

According to journalist Howard Rapp, writing for the magazine Modern Professional:

Beyond the buzzwords, trends, and headlines sits crypto art trailblazer Olive Allen, forward-thinking digital artist, painter, and introspect. Allen’s work combines observational humor with introspection while touching on the very fabric that holds societies together. Her drops feature critical choices that must be made by collectors, moving experiences, and important social commentary people often overlook or are afraid to confront.

Founded in 1984 by Magda Sawon and Tamas Banovich, Postmasters Gallery will add Allen to their roster of pioneering artists like Eva and Franco Mattes, Jennifer and Kevin McCoy, Mark Dorf, Molly Crabapple and others. In May 2021 Postmasters launched their blockchain website PostmastersBLOCKCHAIN, an early and different voice in the tempestuous world of digital art NFTs. Olive Allen’s exhibition at Postmasters will build on their relationship with the artist, having recently shown her “Sheeple Punk” at Art Dubai in 2022. The gallery, according to Artnet News, has become one of the most “forward-looking” American galleries of the last several decades:

Leave it to two twenty somethings from Eastern Europe to found what would become one of the most forward-looking American galleries of the past 36 years. Passion for identifying what's next is what keeps Postmasters at the forefront of culture today.