An interview with Steven Sacks, founder, bitforms gallery, originally published on MORROW collective medium page

Since 2001, Steven Sacks, has been exhibiting works of the foremost new media artists, building an audience and collector base whilst prioritizing history, context and flawless presentation. His gallery, bitforms, in New York has an impressive roster including: Manfred Mohr, a German artist who has been working with algorithms in his art since the 1970s; Beryl Korot, a pioneer of video art; Rafael Lozano-Hemmer who creates large-scale interactive installations in public spaces; and Refik Anadol, whom he exhibited before he reached international fame.

Casey Reas It doesn’t exist (in any other form) bitforms gallery, New York, 2023–24. Still Life (RGB-D), 2023. Courtesy of the artist and bitforms gallery. Photo: Tyler Rutledge

by Anna Seaman

Anna Seaman: Can you take us back to before you opened bitforms gallery in 2001?

Steven Sacks: Prior to the gallery opening I was the Co-founder and Creative Director of Digital Pulp, which was born out of seeing the need to focus and educate a new audience in the merging worlds of tech and creativity. It was the dot com era and a new breed of business was dawning. Digital Pulp addressed this new marketplace.I worked with creatives and tech people all under one roof, which was highly unusual for this type of agency at the time.

AS: How did that lead you into the gallery space?

SS: I didn’t know I was going to open a gallery but what I experienced from Digital Pulp was the incredible creative output from combining art and technology. Those two ways of thinking/creating were something that was very exciting to me, not necessarily relevant to the art world at that time, but I sensed the potential. I also had a sensitivity to the art world and the business of it because my family were antique dealers. Also, when I left Digital Pulp I saw many art shows that I felt connected to, as they were showing new media art. I did some research and I didn’t feel there was a gallery that was truly devoted to this kind of work. Those shows gave me confidence that there could be a future for this. So, because I had experience from my prior business and my family background combined with an MBA in business, I had an interesting skill set to build a new type of gallery. All this inspired me to start the concept of the gallery which focused on experimental new media.

AS: When did your agenda focus on digital art?

SS: Part of the agenda of the gallery was to show the history of the media art genre; to showcase artists across generations who experimented with new media in their specific time period.

We work with artists like Manfred Mohr who is the OG of generative art, and is now 85 years old; Beryl Korot; Lynn Hershman Leeson; and Casey Reas who is more mid-career. Our job is to educate and show there is a deep history to media art, which is why this NFT thing when it was happening was quite disruptive on many levels.

Manfred Mohr, A Formal Language, bitforms gallery, New York, 2019. Courtesy of the artist and bitforms gallery. Photo: Emile Askey

AS: In what way was it disruptive?

SS: The emerging NFT communities had little or no knowledge of media art history prior to the explosion of the marketplace. I work with very serious artists who have been practicing art for up to 60 years in some cases and had no interest in what was happening with NFTs and JPGs being sold for millions. There were artists in the NFT space when it emerged who had no experience or exhibitions who were profiting in ways that I don’t think were justified. Most of my artists were concerned about what was happening with how NFTs were being perceived in the marketplace and being defined as art

Of course, Refik Anadol is an anomaly in my program, who embraced NFTs and has become one of the most famous artists I’ve ever worked with.

AS: Are there any positives that could come out of this wave?

SS: Yes of course, there were huge positives, but there were many problems that came with it. The biggest positive was the overall market awareness of media art and the new evaluations made the art world take notice. One of the biggest problems, as I have said, was understanding the history of new media and in particular generative art: Manfred Mohr has been doing this since the 70s. People must understand this otherwise there is an issue with context and evaluation of artworks. Also, what got lost and was very concerning was the removal of any sense of experience and presentation, as the phone became the medium of choice to present and share media artworks. This went against everything we believed in and against what most artists cared about when their works were experienced. Fortunately this trend has begun to change.

AS: Can you expand on that notion of a problem?

SS: Ignorance of history leads to value discrepancies which make no sense. The Beeple thing for example was extraordinary. He had never sold a piece of work and then he sells for USD 69 million, clearly something was going on there on how to legitimize crypto. I am not judging his artwork. His work can be interesting and he had a serious following, but the big sale was a very programmed situation — he is now a friend of mine, by the way, and I respect his history and the huge responsibility he had to manage. ArtBlocks make millions with work that is similar to the work that artists have been doing for years. Again, I respect what the built and now generative art is more widely appreciated, but history must be understood and respected. Also, my artists weren’t interested in building their careers by getting on Instagram, Discord and Twitter, that’s not part of their art practice, that is not something that was built into their DNA of creation. It is something that the gallery typically does. We were doing this for so long with artists who were incredibly serious and collected by museums. We probably sold more media art than any other gallery on the planet prior to the NFT boom. My job is to protect the artists and to educate people as to what is happening in this field and that was very challenging because of this massive new community that was developing. Eventually, I got to the right people, we spoke and they learned and ended up buying work by my artists and others who had a history in the genre.

Refik Anadol, Quantum, bitforms gallery, New York, 2021. From left to right: Quantum Memories Probability, 2021; Quantum Memories Nature Studies, 2021. Courtesy of the artist and bitforms gallery. Photo: Emile Askey

AS: Some people said that the emerging crypto art space would end up sidelining galleries. Do you agree?

SS: Actually, I think the opposite, especially since the market has taken a huge hit recently. Artists need galleries even more. There is something that galleries can bring to the table: context, history, and experience. We deal with things at a much deeper level that many artists can or want to handle, plus there is a dialogue, a communication when you’re with a gallery that can add to your practice as an artist. Also, throughout history, the craft of presentation is essential to the final art moment. It affects how you appreciate it and, as a collector, how you live with it. It is inappropriate for people to view art on a phone (unless it is intended to be viewed that way). If you come to my gallery and see the beautiful presentation in collectible settings, you will understand why an artist wants to work with a gallery. That’s not to say it can’t be a hybrid model. Many of my artists — Refik Anadol and Casey Reas for example — do a lot of their own projects.

AS: What about your collector base at bitforms, has it grown since the NFT movement?

SS: Yes it has expanded dramatically and in general, it did open up a new economy for more artists to reach collectors. But I found, at our gallery, that we also needed to educate a much larger audience about history. We have sold millions of dollars worth of work to new collectors over the years and that is a good thing because I want those artists to thrive.

AS: So, does your gallery sell NFTs?

SS: Yes we sell NFTs, but it has to be conceptually relevant. In some cases our NFTs are certifications of the work and not even the artwork itself. Sometimes, the artwork is too complex to be on chain. When it was crazy and all the platforms were doing it, we stayed away from it. As a gallery, we needed to understand what was going on as everything an artist does will affect their career. We participate when it makes sense, but we are very careful.

www.bitforms.art

This editorial is part of a series of essays and interviews contextualizing MORROW collective’s {R(Evolutionaries);} project, exhibition and sale commemorating a decade of blockchain art. Launched at Art Dubai Digital 2024 and brought to market in collaboration with SuperRare and Sotheby’s.

For more info www.morrow-collective.com/revolutionaries

“The incredible combination of art and technology”