Exclusive: Snowfro & Avant Arte Collaborate on Limited-Edition Print

Avant Arte, known for its high-quality limited-edition prints, has teamed up with celebrated generative artist Erick Calderon, better known to the Web3 realm as Snowfro.

Together, the two are set to release a limited-edition print offering from the artist’s acclaimed Chromie Squiggle series — the first fine art print from the body of work, signed by the artist. Notably, Calderon has decided to forgo any profit from the drop to provide even greater accessibility.

To learn more about the collaborative release, the process behind it, and its objective, we spoke with Abigail Miller, Avant Arte’s Web3 lead.

Chromie Squiggle #8107

The specific Squiggle in question is Chromie Squiggle #8107, a personal favorite from Snowfro’s collection that embodies some of the most enchanting aspects of the series.

Speaking with Miller, we learned more about the curation process and why #8107 was selected, an undoubtedly difficult task considering the sheer variety of Squiggles to choose from.

Miller shared that “The selection was done by Snowfro himself. He mentioned that the ribbed trait is specifically a commentary on how guarded we are as humans, we have colorfulness inside, but we aren’t all exuding happiness. We all have layers of guardedness. But now and again the color shines through, this veil we hide behind which is exemplified in Chromie Squiggle 8107.”

The Process

Another reason #8107 was selected was due to its potential to be translated well into print. In a sense, the printing process mirrors the digital creation of Chromie Squiggles, which were initially crafted with a colored layer and occasionally with an additional trait.

Notably, the physical prints will feature a rainbow layer masked by black ribs, applied using a silkscreen technique by Avant Arte’s master printmaker, Make-Ready in London. This method ensures the print faithfully represents the digital original’s quality and artistry.

Miller further explained that “Chromie Squiggle 8107 was chosen specifically for the printing process as Erick felt the physical printing method is reflective of how squiggles are composed digitally. Each squiggle has a color gradient as a base, then some have added traits on top. This print reflects this in our layering technique. The first layer is the color gradient printed on a UV flatbed. Then the second layer is a silkscreen layer of grey color ink and varnish to add the ribbed trait. This technique was one of the main reasons Erick wanted to work with us at Avant Arte to produce Chromie Squiggles first available fine art print signed by him.”

Accessibility

To purchase a Chromie Squiggle from the secondary market, at the time of writing, it would cost roughly 9.4 ETH or approximately $18,800 USD. However, this limited edition fine art print, signed by Calderon, is set to be released for $380 USD.

It’s worth noting that this is one of the more affordable offerings that’s come from Avant Arte in recent months, with Dmitri Cherniak’s Ringers #962: The LACMA Iterations releasing for $890 USD and the two recent CryptoPunks prints for a range of $556 to $668 USD.

The reason behind the accessible price point for the 8107 print is two-pronged, firstly because at its core, even prior to its entry into Web3, Avant Arte has maintained a focus and mission in democratizing art collecting. Secondly, Calderon has decided to forgo any profit for this drop, to make the print all the more accessible.

“Snowfro wanted this release to be a celebration of Chromie Squiggles and did not want to personally profit from the community that has done so much for him.”

ABIGAIL MILLER

Miller added, “This project is dedicated to making a Chromie Squiggle accessible to everyone, the price and printing technique is a reflection of this.”

Interested collectors will soon be able to acquire this 40x40cm piece of GenArt history and will have a seven-day purchase window starting December 7 via Avant Arte’s official site.