Standing in a crowded room with champagne in hand, looking at and talking about art is one of the favorite pastimes of many New Yorkers.

But it seemed to some that it had almost become old-fashioned in view of the booming NFT art market on the Internet.

Platforms like Superrare are at least as important for young collectors of non-fungible tokens as traditional galleries, at least that's how the entries on some Twitter or Discord accounts read.

In the Metaverse, personal virtual galleries can be populated with acquired works.

Is this the art enjoyment of the future?

Apparently not only.

Because now, of all things, Superrare has opened a vintage walk-through-and-view gallery in New York, at least for this summer.

The platform will occupy two floors in a house in Soho until August 28th.

The artworks are presented on flat screens, alongside a QR code and sometimes headphones.

Anyone who buys such a work acquires the unique authenticity certification on the blockchain, the NFT.

The gallery aims to provide an "immersive environment" for this art, the website says.

This probably means that you can also see the works online and even meet other art lovers.

The first show is called Visions from Remembered Futures.

There is "Mars House" by Krista Kim, a computer animation of a house with transparent walls in a black mountain landscape.

Anyone who purchases the NFT will receive 3D files of it that can be uploaded to the Metaverse.

In addition, according to the description that the QR code brings to the mobile phone, the house and the minimalist furniture in it could be made "by glass furniture makers in Italy" - not included in the purchase price.

the NFT,

the artist collaborated with Jeff Schroeder from the Smashing Pumpkins for the spherical soundtrack, which is said to "radiate a healing Zen atmosphere".

The highest bid of the work, which is also for auction on Superrare, is currently three ethers, the equivalent of around 5900 dollars.

The expectation is over a million.

"Agent A" is a video animation by NFT artist Maskarade that leads to aggressive music in a room full of computers where a robot learns to follow instructions better than any human.

The "intelligence blast," which looks like a scene from a video game, sold for thirty ethers when it was around $142,000 - now it would only be around $59,000.

Ness Graphics' "R4G3QU1T." changed hands for the equivalent of $115,000.

You can see the animated drawing of a desk with several screens.

The caption provides a monologue that could come from a gambling addict: "I defeated computers to show my superiority," it reads, and "I won't sleep, I won't eat."

According to Superrare, artists have sold works worth $152 million on the platform so far.

If you want to do this yourself, you have to fill out an application form, unlike Opensea, for example – Superrare relies on curating NFT art.

They want to become the "largest decentralized community for artists".

The Soho gallery aims to attract clients who have not yet purchased NFT.

Many collectors acquire the tokens as investment objects.

According to a study by the insurer Hiscox, most buyers are more concerned with the money than with the art: 82 percent of those surveyed said so.

Online art sales were $4.82 billion worldwide in 2019, and are expected to be around $13.5 billion in 2021.