Xèo Chu, a 14-year-old Vietnamese artist, recently auctioned his first non-fungible token (NFT) painting on the platform Binance with the winning bid of US$22,899.

According to VnExpress, on August 6th, Xèo Chu's painting ‘Hoa Mai may mắn,’ or ‘The Lucky Apricot,’ became the highest-priced painting from Vietnam sold on Binance. Sharing with the news source, Xèo Chu said: “The NFT realm is an entirely different world. I am thrilled to see my artwork go beyond physical boundaries to reach supporters.” The young artist plans to donate all of the auction proceeds to charity. 

Xèo Chu, whose real name is Phó Vạn An, was born in 2007. At age 12, he had his first solo exhibition in New York City, where his artworks were compared to renowned artist Jackson Pollock.

‘Hoa Mai may mắn’ was his first artwork in 2021, and took approximately two months to complete. The painting was inspired by the idea that if an apricot tree blooms twice a year, it is seen as a sign of luck, new beginnings, and success. When listed on Binance, the painting had an opening price of US$5,000. After 24 hours, it was purchased for US$22,899. 

A spokesperson from Binance explained that art is often undermined on the digital space because it is mostly free and easily copied. But with NFT — a token stored on a blockchain that verifies the uniqueness of a digital asset — artists can create financial value for their work.

In the case of Xèo Chu, the buyer owns the artwork in the digital form, and that singular ownership is secured with the blockchain token. Xèo Chu still owns the real painting, however, as most NFT art collectors do not receive the physical version.

[Photo via Thanh Nien]