Sotheby's NFT Auction Canceled

The renowned auction house, Sotheby's canceled its "Natively Digital Glitch-ism" NFT auction on Sunday, after opening just two days earlier. The collection was made up of various mediums that reflect computer malfunctions, or "glitches." The surprising decision came after Patrick Amadon, one of the twenty-one featured artists, withdrew his work from the auction due to a lack of representation. Amadon, a glitch artist specialist, hit back at the famous auction house for not including enough female-identifying artists. He expressed his hope that the Sotheby's collection would have been more inclusive. He said on his Twitter that although he believed that it was a genuine oversight by the team, the lack of representation must be addressed.

Before Amadon's work was withdrawn and the auction canceled, his piece "STATIC GLITCH 2013" had received 21 bids with the most recent being $8,500. Fellow glitch artist Liz posted to her Twitter account about the situation, expressing gratitude to Amadon for putting aside monetary gain to address a serious issue in the art industry. Amadon said he hopes his call for change will have a wider impact and influence, beyond the canceled Sotheby's auction. He hopes to impact how artists will be exhibited in the future.