Jessica Angel (b.1980, Bogotá, Colombia) is a pioneer of the adoption of blockchain technology through her latest art installations and has been a leader since the early days of the NFT movement. By facilitating collaborations between technologists and artists, the art and blockchain doyenne has carved an impressive artistic path that spans from the world of traditional art to an extensive network of blockchain infrastructure projects shaped to explore technology through art. Being well-grounded in the traditional arts, Angel saw the increasing interest in digital art brought about by NFTs as an opportunity to highlight the relevance of physical works and their possibility to integrate digital elements that bridge both worlds. 

Angel moved into the NFT space once she had assembled a team capable of pushing the boundaries of this technology by creating a new, ingenious paradigm where public art, blockchain technology, AR, and installation works intercept into a holistic and cross-disciplinary experience. Since 2017, Angel has been a key player in the world of art and blockchain; and the only traditional artist featured as a speaker at the first NFT conference, Rare Arts Festival along with the CryptoPunks creators and A16Z contributors. In 2017, she created #ArtProject, a community that mobilized artists, programmers, and technology enthusiasts, to produce and fund ambitious art pieces using blockchain technology. Angel has been a notable speaker at the leading blockchain conferences in the world advocating for the exploration between art and technology.

Angel’s determination to bridge the gap between art and blockchain has culminated in collaborations on notable projects with Kusama Network, Status, Maker Foundation, Truebit Protocol, and the Foundation for Art and Blockchain, who awarded her the first grant they ever issued. Since 2018, Angel has been the leading artistic force at ETHDenver; the biggest annual blockchain event which became art focused due to her intervention and curatorial vision. Currently, Angel works with the NFT investment firm and creative studio Metaversal, leading their only in-house art project: MetaLetters, and curating and hosting their weekly podcast, Art of the Matter.

In the realm of the art industry, Angel has headed the development of several large-scale projects and teaching residences with internationally acclaimed organizations. She is an alumna of the Vancouver Biennale’s International Artist Residency Program (2018/2019), served a teaching-artist for a residency at The Cooper Union School of Art and Architecture in New York City, the BRIC Media Arts Fellowship in Brooklyn, and the Studios at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. During a teaching residency in 2017 organized in conjunction with UAB’s Department of Art and Art History, Angel created a site-specific installation at the Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts. This piece had a total surface coverage of 9,000-square-foot at the museum.   

She is an alumna of the Vancouver Biennale’s International Artist Residency Program (2018/2019) During the 2-year development process of creating Voxel Bridge, Angel curated #ArtProject2020, a 5-day virtual conference hosted by the Vancouver Biennale, which gathered the leading minds in the NFT world. 

In August 2021, Angel finalized plans for the installation of Voxel Bridge, an immersive 19,000 sq. foot interactive artwork underneath the south end of Vancouver’s Cambie Bridge. The mural was designed to ‘re-imagine’ how the physical and digital realms intersect in public spaces with the use of blockchain data and augmented reality (AR). Voxel Bridge was the impetus for the creation of Angel’s 20 VXLBDG NFTs.

Other works by Angel have been displayed at the Inter-American Development Bank galleries, the School of Visual Arts’ CP Projects Space in New York, El Banco de la República de Colombia, 516 Arts, where she was a recipient of the VAN Residency, and universities and galleries across the Americas.

Transition into Digital Art

Prior to working in the digital space, in the early 2000s Angel’s practice revolved around the creation of paintings, drawings, and prints. Her artwork has been showcased in the most prominent gallery in Colombia, Casa Riegner and included in the most prestigious collections and world embassies in the country. By approaching digital art with the perspective of “hand-crafted” designs, without the use of digital aids. Through these series of drawings and models that ideate her digitally-inspired installations, the artist closes the apparent gap between art in the virtual and real world.

As her pieces became more complex, the hand-created ethos moved to digitally generated models with the use of high-end architectural and engineering computer software that allowed her realize her vision in a faster and time efficient way.

Since the advent of blockchain technology, and her involvement in the art and blockchain movement, Angel always had the vision of an NFT project that tested the possibilities of decentralized technologies by blending real and virtual elements (public space, blockchain technology, installation works, and AR) into an all-inclusive ecosystem. Angel becomes the creative force behind Voxel Bridge and her long-awaited VXLBDG NFTs in collaboration with the Vancouver Biennale, Spheroid Universe, and the Kusama Network.

SITE SPECIFIC INSTALLATIONS

2021  Voxel Bridge. Vancouver Biennale of Public Art. Cambie St Bridge, Vancouver, BC
2018  The Interwoven Totality of Everything. Inter-American Development Bank Galleries, Washington, DC
2017  Facing the Hyperstructure. Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts. Birmingham, AL
2016  Continuum. 516 Arts . Albuquerque, NM
2015  Planck Projection. Bogota Planetarium. Colombia
2015  Limitless Alignment. Walsh Gallery, Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ
2014  Hemispherical Immersion 2.0. 516 ARTS. Albuquerque, NM. USA
2014  Diorama. Commissioned by BRIC Arts Media House. Brooklyn, NY. USA
2013  Limitless Alignment. Seton Hall University. NJ
2013  Hemispherical Immersion 2.0. 516 Arts. Albuquerque. NM
2013  Hemispherical Immersion. Juan Salas Gallery. Bogotá
2012  The Self of the Building. The Cooper Union New York, NY
2012  Enter the Wall. Public Art installation. Bogotá, Colombia
2010  Building Codes. Large-scale mural. Brooklyn Arts Council, NY
2009  Info-Trek. One Brooklyn Bridge Park Building. Brooklyn, NY
2007  Urbania. Public Art Intervention. IV Biennial SIART. La Paz, Bolivia

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2017  Drawings. Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts. AEIVA. Birmngham, AL
2016  Grids of Formation.  Strongroom Inc. Newburgh, NY
2015  Mirroring Horizon. CP Projects Space. School of Visual Arts. NYC. USA
2014  As Above, So Below. AC Institute. New York, NY. USA
2013  Panopticon and Panoramas. Juan Salas Gallery. Bogota, Colombia
2009  Dirty Worthless Money. Casas Riegner Gallery. Bogota, Colombia
2008  Virtual Windows. Museum of Modern Art, Bucaramanga, Colombia
2008  The Architecture of Hypertext. Universidad de los Andes. Bogota, Colombia
2007  ASCII Paintings and Other Attempts. Salamanca University. Bogota, Colombia
2006  The Papers of the Law. Casas Riegner Gallery, Bogota, Colombia

AWARD AND RESIDENCIES

2019  Vancouver Biennale Visiting Artist Residency. British Columbia
2018 Foundation for Art and Blockchain Grant Recipient
2017  Long Term Visiting Artist, Department of Art and Art History. The University of Alabama at Birmingham
2016  VAN Residency (Visual Artists Network) USA
2016  Studios at MASS MoCA Residency. North Adams, MA
2015  Art and Science Award. Idartes. Bogotá, Colombia
2013  OPEN PAINTING Laboratories Award. Bank of the Republic of Colombia and FGGA Foundation.
2012  BRIC Media Arts fellowship, Brooklyn NY
2012  Teaching-Artist Summer Residency, Cooper Union, New York, NY
2010  City Walls -Brooklyn Arts Council. New York
2009  BOFFO-Artist in Residence. Brooklyn, NY
2007  Honorable Mention. V International Arte Biennial SIART La Paz. Bolivia
2006  Honorable Mention. I Drawing Biennial of the Americas. Mexico
2006  Meritor Thesis. Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Bogota

SELECTED TALKS AND LECTURES

2023 Speaker “XRchitecture and Storytelling ” University of Tennessee, College of Architecture and Design”
2023 Contributor - “Rediscover the Early History of Crypto Art” First Historic NFT Festival
2022 Curator and Weekly Host - “Art of the Matter Series” Web3 and NFT Podcast with Metaversal
2022 Lecture - “Immersive Experiences as Doors to the Metaverse” L.A.S.E.R. Talks, Stanford University
2022 Speaker - “The Making of Voxel Bridge” Vancouver Creative Technology. Virtual Lecture
2021 Speaker - “NFTs, Crypto-Currency and the Art World” Art Gallery of Ontario
2021 Curator and Moderator - ETHDenver MakersPace Virtual Conference
2020 Curator and Keynote Speaker - #ArtProject2020 - Vancouver Biennale - Virtual
2020  Keynote Contributor - "Art at the Frontlines of Blockchain Adoption" ETHDenver, CO.
2019  Moderator - "Unstoppable Art, Roundtable" Ethereal Summit, Pioneer Works . NY
2019  Artist Talk - "Computational Power + Creative Machines" ETHDenver, CO
2018  Panelist - "NYC ArtTech + Blockchain Connect" Kimmel Center, New York University
2018  Lecture - "Public Art + Public Blockchains" Vancouver Biennale - Dogecon Vancouver
2018  Moderator - "Meme Dreams Philosophy Salon" Dogecon Vancouver
2018  Artist Talk - "The Dogethereum Bridge #ArtProject" Ethereal Summit NYC
2018  Panelist - "The Art of Crypto Assets” Liminal Network- Williamsburg Hotel. NY
2018  Moderator - "Trading Dank Rares" Creative Tech Week. New York, NY
2018  Panelist - "Digital Creativity and Blockchain. Inter-American Development Bank. D.C.
2018  Panelist - "Memes and Crypto Art. National Arts Club. New York.
2018  Panelist - "Art and Games on the Blockchain. ETHDenver. CO.
2018  Panelist - "How Does Blockchain Change the Game for Artists. Rare Arts Festival. NYC
2017  Artist Talk - "The Dogethereum Bridge". Distributed Conference, San Francisco, CA
2017  Panelist - "From Eye to Mind" Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts. Birmingham, AL
2017  Lecture - "Facing the Hyperstructure" Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts.
2017  Artist Talk - "Grids of Formation" Strongroom Inc. Newburgh, NY
2016  Artist Talk - "Boundless and Finite" 516 Arts. Albuquerque, NM
2015  Lecture - "Multidimensional Space" Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts AEIVA.
2015  Artist Talk - "Hyperspace" Javeriana University. Bogotá, Col.
2015  Panelist - "Grasping Infinity" Seton Hall University. South Orange, NJ.
2014  Lecture - "Immersive New Media and Art Environments" University of New Mexico.
2014  Symposium - "Interactivity in Digital Art" Albuquerque Museum of Art and History.
2014  Lecture - "The Three Dimensions of Color" Jorge Tadeo Lozano University. Bogotá, Col.
2013  Lecture - "Painting and Installation" Museo de Arte Banco de la República. Col
2013  Conversation - "Does Infinity Have a Size? " with Astrophysicist Jaclyn Avidon. AC Institute, New York
2013  Artist Talk - "Micro Cosmic" AC Institute, New York, NY

Children Education Experience

2018 - 2020 Museum Educator - Staten Island Children Museum
2015 - 2019 Museum Educator -Bronx Museum of the Arts. New York, NY
2014 - 2020 Groundswell Community Mural Project. New York, NY
2011 - 2013 Visual Arts Educator - High School - Larcordaire Academy. Montclair, New Jersey