NFTs are very popular these days, and with the opening of the first NFT Superchief gallery earlier this year in New York, it was only a matter of time before NFT’s first residence disappeared as well. The residence at the luxurious Grand-Hotel du Cap-Ferrat is led by Kamyar Maleki, director of art fairs Volta, who invited French crypto artist Sasan Behnam-Bakhtiar along with British singer and composer Tiny Tempah.
Led by collector and philanthropist Kamiar Maleki, Present the Future is a hybrid art residency that brings together British musician Tiny Tempah and Franco-Iranian artist Sasan Behnam-Bakhtiar to create NTF audiovisual artwork. There were few places that could make for a more idyllic setting for an artist’s residence than the French Riviera. And it is here that French-Iranian artist Sasan Benam-Bakhtiar and British musician Tiny Tempah settled down for an intense seven days of creative collaboration.
The luscious landscapes and vibrant colors of the Côte d’Azur have attracted artists and writers for centuries. In 1917, Matisse was so captivated by the sun-drenched views that he decided to settle in the south of France for the rest of his life. Years later, Sasan Behnam-Bakhtiar found himself equally drawn to the timeless Mediterranean landscape and now lives and works in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat.
However, collaboration with hip-hop pioneer Tiny Tempah was something new and completely unexpected for the artist. NTF’s audiovisual works produced during the residency are based on Behnam-Bakhtiar’s signature painting style, Peinture raclée, and its recurring flower symbols, and are presented alongside live music and spoken word performance by Tiny Tempah, as well as a panel discussion moderated by auctioneer Simon de Pury.
The audio elements provided by Tempah are accompanied by the work of Sasan Behnam-Bakhtiyar, a French-Iranian crypto artist known for his floral compositions, which use the impressionistic landscapes of the French Mediterranean coast, far from his native Iran, where he spent considerable time. the time when the young man was tortured in prison.
