The First Artist with Down Syndrome and Autism to Release An NFT Collection of 1,000 Unique Artworks: Santiago Releases His ABSTRACTO Collection on December 9th

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- At just sixteen years old, Santiago is a non-verbal artist with Down syndrome who is changing the face of modern art. On December 9th, the emerging artist will launch his large-scale NFT collection, ABSTRACTO by Santiago. This groundbreaking project will make Santiago the first artist with Down syndrome and autism to release an NFT collection of 1,000 unique artworks.

The ABSTRACTO collection champions the Down syndrome and autism communities, and shines light on new opportunities for artists with disabilities. At a very young age, Santiago began using art as a means to express himself. While Santiago is non-verbal, his art speaks loud and clear.

"Santiago embraced what makes him different," says Nico Segura, Santiago's brother. "Instead of looking at his disability as a weakness, he turned it into his greatest strength. Santiago's uniqueness is exactly what gives him a distinct artistic perspective, and what makes his art special. We wanted to give him a platform for him to shine on his own, and to leave a legacy through his art."

To create the ABSTRACTO collection, Santiago painted over 200 paintings over the course of 5 months. He used a diverse range of materials, including oil paint, acrylic paint, gesso, oil pastel, and charcoal.

Next, Santiago's 200 canvas paintings were all scanned to digital format. Then, following an algorithmic editing technique, different elements of the paintings were combined to create brand new digital artworks. As such, Santiago's 200 physical paintings yielded 1,000 unique digital artworks comprising the complete ABSTRACTO collection.

The first 22 NFTs sold will include both the digital NFT artwork and the original physical paintings on canvas that correspond with each NFT. These are the most exclusive NFTs from the ABSTRACTO collection. The physical paintings range in size from 11" x 14", to 36" x 48".

ABSTRACTO will be sold in a Dutch auction format on the Ethereum blockchain (which uses the Ether cryptocurrency Ξ). The auction starts at 5.0Ξ and drops by 0.2Ξ every 5 minutes until it rests at 0.2Ξ or sells out.

In traditional art auctions, artists get paid once for the initial sale of their creations, but NFTs now allow artists to earn residuals every time a sale is made. Proceeds from the auction will be used to continue funding Santiago's specialized, life-long care. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the National Down Syndrome Society and the National Autism Association.

The ABSTRACTO auction kicks off December 9th, 2022 (6 PM EST) on www.abstracto.io. Visit the website, and the Twitter page @SantiagoArtwork for more details. Join Santiago during the ABSTRACTO auction as he unveils the most important art project of his life.

SOURCE ABSTRACTO by Santiago