LAGO’s NFT Frames Bridge the Gap Between Traditional and Digital Art
Now featuring a digital pass, these advanced minted art displays uphold utility and artistry
Innovations in minting and buying NFTs permeate the evolving world of digital art, but the same cannot be said for their display. Typically, collectors and buyers are limited to showing their works online from a mobile app or web browser, unable to take them beyond the computer and into the real world. For Master & Dynamic CEO Jonathan Levine, entrepreneur Dan Merritts and co-founder of the crypto wallet Portis, Scott Gralnick, art is meant to be viewed and, as such, NFTs rely upon their utility. That’s why the trio co-founded LAGO, which produces sophisticated, real-world frames that transport digital art onto walls in a way that preserves the depth and dimensions unique to computerized works.
Founded in May 2021, LAGO set out to create an advanced minted art display that allows digital works to be exhibited alongside traditional ones. The brand’s product of the same name—a 33-inch, high-resolution, square frame fitted with ambient light and motion sensors—is the only display with built-in premium sound. This combination of technology enables the LAGO display to deliver interactive, immersive experiences specific to minted art works that have dynamic elements to them. As a multi-faceted canvas that can display pieces the owner obtained or that other collectors have made available, the frame exhibits art true to the artist’s vision while maintaining authentication and security.
Now LAGO is unveiling its latest release: the LAGO Pass (which will be limited to 3,000 vetted minters). The pass acts as an access card to LAGO’s community of digital artists and collectors as well as its exclusive events, including art and cultural trips, private auctions, gallery openings and artist dinners. Every pass holder will also receive a LAGO frame and soon the LAGO X—the company’s next-generation frame.
“Our mission is to bridge the gap between the metaverse and the real world, and the LAGO Founders’ Edition Frame was our first step in achieving that,” says Gralnick. “We then recognized an opportunity to enhance the dynamics between Web 2.0 and web3, which gave way to the LAGO Pass. In creating this community, we offer customers one-of-a-kind experiences that truly bring the metaverse home.”
In addition, passes helps prospective buyers navigate the digital art world, with access to concierge services that assist with and inform about art transactions, latest drops and the digital market. The catalog of benefits will be rotated and diversified every month.
For the inaugural Founders’ Mint, LAGO worked with artists—including Gmunk, BT and Ben Mauro—to mint original NFTs exclusively for pass holders. Each month, LAGO will release a commissioned work from their roster of over 100 artists alongside additional works from eight or nine emerging artists.
LAGO’s frame and pass are elevated, function-forward ways to enjoy NFTs. Not only does the display do justice to artwork itself, it also merges the gap between traditional and digital art—the motivation that established LAGO. A LAGO Pass can be minted at their website now.
Hero image courtesy of LAGO
