Changes in the art market in the last few years included a sudden burst of interest and prices for NFTs and, as with every sudden hit, the collapse of the same interest and loss of profit for many NFT-oriented companies and collectors. This includes the market leaders such as OpenSea, which had to lay off 20% of its staff in July. 

The volatility of the NFT market and recent market research showing that collectors are reluctant to switch to digital art completely and still prefer to buy pieces that have a material form pushed artists to recalibrate their approach and bridge the gap between the physical and digital art forms. The new hybridized physical-digital art format and market is called phygital art. 

Phygital Art Explained

Phygital is slowly becoming a new buzzword in the (digital) art world. A combination of terms digital and physical, phygital means physical and digital combined to create unique interactive experiences for the viewers. 

However, the term itself provokes a groan in crypto circles. Artnet columnist Kenny Schachter notes that the word phygital “sounds like a bad case of indigestion,” while others consider it the future of art that, as collector Ryan Zurrer claims, “will flip the entire crypto market.” 

Until the devices for the display of digital art improve, says Schachter, he will continue to accumulate hybrid NFTs or digital works that also have a physical component. A similar sentiment is behind the recent surge in phygital art, with artists developing aspects of their digital creations in physical forms for collectors who are still uncertain about digital media. 

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