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New York and the gold cube affair by artist Niclas Castello

Artist Niclas Castello's public installation stunt with the Castello gold cube as it appeared in New York City's Central Park promoting the new Castello cryptocurrency.

by STIRworldPublished on : Feb 09, 2022

On a snowy winter morning, the citizens of New York City witnessed a mysterious gold cube appear in the iconic Central Park in Manhattan. Created by 43-year-old German artist, Niclas Castello, the magnificent gold cube weighs 410-pound, made of pure 24-carat gold that came with its strong security protection. The gold sculpture art is foot-and-a-half in measure and around an inch thick with a hollow core.

  • Niclas Castello engraving his initials on the Castello Cube | STIRworld
    Niclas Castello engraving his initials on the Castello Cube Image: Courtesy of the artist
  • Group of people admiring the Castello Cube, Niclas Castello | STIRworld
    Group of people admiring the Castello Cube Image: Courtesy of the artist

The Castello Cube display in Manhattan’s park was reportedly a publicity stunt. The motive was to promote the artist’s new cryptocurrency, ‘Castello Coin’. The artist asserted the artwork to be “a conceptual work of art in all its facets.” He stated that the idea was to “create something that is beyond our world—that is intangible.” According to reports, the work took more than 4,500 hours to create. The gold sculptural installation had its unique process of creation that comprised a handmade kiln to contain the volume of gold. The recasting of the gold required the kiln to be heated at 1,100 degrees Celsius at the Art Foundry H Ruetschi in Aarau, Switzerland.

Niclas Castello standing in front of the LED trucks displaying coordinates, Niclas Castello |  STIRworld
Niclas Castello standing in front of the LED trucks displaying coordinates Image: Courtesy of niclas.castello on Instagram

Castello is a contemporary artist from East Germany, known for his highly-acclaimed cube painting sculptures where he incorporates large oil paintings into three-dimensional sculpture works. Following the outlook of Andy Warhol, his works stand firmly in the spotlight of the consumer world with association to art and community. According to the press note, Castello’s life, determined by the fall of the Berlin Wall, directed him to the Pop Art world, and the Neo-Expressionism of Jean-Michel Basquiat that heavily impacted his imperative art practice that includes sculpture art and paintings. Castello lives and works in between New York City and Switzerland.

  • 24-carat gold incorporated for producing the work |  STIRworld
    24-carat gold incorporated for producing the work Image: Courtesy of the artist
  • Niclas Castello standing with the Castello Cube in New York City|  STIRworld
    Niclas Castello standing with the Castello Cube in New York City Image: Sandra Mika, Courtesy of the artist

Reportedly, LED screens with mysterious black trucks appeared in Times Square, New York, days prior to the gold cube’s single-day appearance displaying the coordinates for its location, N 40° 46′ 22″ / W 73° 58′ 17.″ Additionally, the German artist’s objective was to emphasise the rarity of the gold sculpture art by displaying it for just one day. The contemporary artist's viral sculptural work is currently not for sale. In a change of events, if he were to put the knee-high sculpture for sale in the art market, the price of gold incorporated amounts approximately to a whopping USD 11.7 million.

04 mins watch Niclas Castello’s interview at the installation site | STIRworld
Niclas Castello’s interview at the installation site Video: Courtesy of the artist

The Castello coin ($CAST) is ready to be traded for purchase online at €0.39 ($0.44) each, along with an NFT auction planned for February 21, 2022, through its website. By the reports, Castello stated, "Never before in the history of humanity has such an enormous amount of gold been cast into a single, pure object. Gold - the eternal metal. Symbol of the sun, of light, of the good." The public sculpture’s image posted on his Instagram has received over 22,000 likes.

Castello Cube, 2022, Gold, Niclas Castello Image: Courtesy of niclas.castello on Instagram

Post the one-time display at Central Park, and enormous security care, the eminent cube made its appearance at an elite private dinner at Wall Street, reportedly attended by celebrities.

The gold cube displayed at Cipriani Wall Street private dinner |  STIRworld
The gold cube displayed at Cipriani Wall Street private dinner Image: Sandra Mika, Courtesy of the artist

(Text by Vatsala Sethi, Assistant Editorial Coordinator (Arts))

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