How much bang for your blockchain at this NFT-only show?

Pellas Gallery’s “New Horizons” present isn’t the primary time NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, have been exhibited in a neighborhood gallery. But it surely’s the primary Boston-area group present I’ve seen devoted completely to the crypto-artworks that collectors register on a digital ledger known as a blockchain.

NFT artwork has supercharged the art market. And the present, curated by artist Alex Ness of NessGraphics, feels supercharged, too. Many of the items are animated on 20-second loops; some are nonetheless. The imagery is eye-popping, and the {hardware} is smooth. The ten works featured are intoxicatingly luxurious.

However that heady impact is like assembly a sexy stranger at a bar after a number of too many drinks. Do you actually need to take that individual — or this artwork — house? Glitz has a meltingly swift shelf life, whereas good artwork is one thing it takes time to get to know.

The title of Ness’s personal piece, “FL1PP3R.v.01,” a dense, feverish, flashy picture of a pinball machine with pounding techno music, acknowledges the scorching market’s penchant for turnover. The allusion is intelligent, but it surely’s a wink, not a full-blown consideration of the market’s context and results.

One robotic teaches one other to fish in Ryan Talbot’s Pixar-level lovely “Gone Fishing.” You could possibly fall into the piece’s deep blues and glowing oranges, and the robots chirp sweetly. However like a lot of the NFTs right here, it appears centered extra on attracting eyeballs than prompting reflection.

There are a number of exceptions. A luminous orb with churning clouds spins in a darkened area in GMUNK’s “Ethero Stratos.” The piece, which has a surprisingly deep, rumbling soundtrack, references Taoism’s circle of yin and yang, and it fulfills that image’s embodiment of complementarity — it’s nonetheless however roiling, darkish however gentle. It could possibly be a centerpiece in a meditation room.

Raf Grassetti’s “Infinity” depicts a head-and-shoulders bust, illuminated from inside. The shape turns barely — and hypnotically — forwards and backwards. The attention breezes previous the classically lovely exterior, which Grassetti renders in matte grey, to the extra fascinating inside, the place gentle rises and falls in a sighing rhythm.

GMUNK’s and Grassetti’s NFTs present greater than visible saturation or a sugar excessive — they invite a viewer to spend time. I suppose if a collector buys an NFT simply to flip it, the time spent doesn’t matter a lot. However that’s not artwork. That’s simply overblown worth.

NEW HORIZONS

At Pellas Gallery, 114 Newbury St., via April 23. 424-394-2184, www.pellasgallery.com

Cate McQuaid could be reached at [email protected]. Observe her on Twitter @cmcq.