Hackatao

Biography

Hackatao is a pioneering Italian artist duo composed of Nadia Squarci and Sergio Scalet, formed in Milan in 2007. Their name merges 'hacker' and 'tao,' reflecting a practice built on both digital innovation and a search for balanced duality. The duo eventually relocated from Milan to a remote mountain hamlet in the Italian Alps to focus intensively on their artistic development, cultivating a distinctive style of pop-surrealism infused with psychological, social, and art-historical references. Their most recognizable visual signature is the 'Podmork,' a totemic, doll-like figure originally hand-sculpted in ceramic and painted before later evolving into their digital and NFT work. Hackatao entered the blockchain art space in 2018, minting their historic first NFT, 'Girl Next Door,' on SuperRare, and quickly became one of the top-tier digital creators in the emerging crypto art market, generating multi-million dollar sales volume. They have collaborated with major auction houses including Christie's and Sotheby's, notably creating 'Hack of a Bear' as a contemporary digital companion piece to Leonardo da Vinci's 'Head of a Bear.' Beyond individual sales, Hackatao has launched decentralized, community-driven art frameworks and experiments including 'Remix Me' and 'Queens+Kings,' as well as their own social token, $MORK, applying decentralized finance concepts to sustain and nurture their crypto art community. Widely regarded as among the pioneers of the international crypto art movement, Hackatao has been the subject of extensive press coverage and interviews, including features in The NFT Magazine and Wealthsimple, and continues to be recognized as one of the most influential and enduring artist duos in blockchain-based art.