Mike Winkelmann Biography
Michael Joseph Winkelmann who is known professionally as Beeple or Beeple, is an American digital artist, graphic designer, and animator. He is known for using various mediums in creating comical, phantasmagoric works that makes political, social commentary while using pop culture figures as references. Everydays: the First 5000 Days, a collage of images from his “Everydays” series, sold for $69,400,000 on March 12, 2021, making it the fourth-most expensive artwork by a living artist. It is the first purely non-fungible token to be sold by Christie’s. The auction house had previously sold Block 21, an NFT with accompanying physical painting for approximately $130,000 in October 2020.
In early 2021, the digital artist released the 5000 Day Selects as a commemorative piece to the Christie’s auction with 105 editions.
How old is Mike Winkelmann? – Age
The American digital artist is 38 years old as of 20th July 2020. He was born in 1982 in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, United States.
Who are Mike Winkelmann Parents? -Father and mother
The American digital artist is the son to his father who worked as an electrical engineer, and his mother worked at a senior center. He grew up in North Fond du Lac, Wisconsin and retains the Wisconsin accent.
Mike Winkelmann Education
The American digital artist graduated from Purdue University in 2003 majoring in computer science.
Is Mike Winkelmann in a Relationship? – Spouse
Yes, the American digital artist is in love. He is a married man. He is married to Jen who is a school teacher. The couple are both madly in love with each other and currently they are enjoying the parenting life together.
Mike Winkelmann Children
The American digital artist after few years in marriage with his wife, Jen, the pair were blessed with two lovely children. They are raising their children with a lot of support and love as parents. They are based in North Charleston, South Carolina, having moved from Wisconsin in 2017.
Mike Winkelmann Art Career
The American digital artist started “Everydays,” which involved creating a piece of art every day, on May 1, 2007. This project is ongoing, and has spanned more than 5,000 consecutive days of digital art creation. He has discussed completing a piece of art even on days when it was inconvenient, like on his wedding day and the day of his children’s births.
The project was inspired by Tom Judd, who did a drawing every day for a year. The artist thought it was a beneficial way to sharpen his drawing skills. In the following years, he focused on one skill or medium per year, including Adobe Illustrator in 2012 and Cinema 4D in 2015.
Winklemann’s works often depict dystopian futures. Frequently, he uses recognizable figures from popular culture or politics to satirize current events. Some of the artist’s works were incorporated into Louis Vuitton’s Spring/Summer 2019 ready-to-wear collection.
Winkelmann started selling non-fungible tokens, digital representations of art whose ownership is verified by a blockchain, on Nifty Gateway in November 2020. One of these works, Crossroad, would change into one of two animations depending on the victor of the 2020 United States presidential election; it was sold for $66,666.66 and resold for $6.7 million in February 2021.
Everydays: the First 5000 Days, a collage of images from the “Everydays” series, was put up for auction at Christie’s on February 25 and sold for $69,400,000 on March 11, 2021. Everydays is the first NFT to be sold by a legacy auction house, and is the first sale at Christie’s that could be paid in Ether.
Mike Winkelmann Net worth
The American digital artist has an estimated net worth of around $70 million as of 2021.