HEFT CIRCLE
A token of conviction
for the next chapter of art.
A patron membership of 1000 Circles from 100 artists, advancing Heft and supporting the artists shaping the New Systems art movement.
Minted on Ethereum · Powered by TokenWorks™
The Mission
Heft was founded to champion artists working with systems — across generative art, AI, computational approaches, conceptual frameworks, and emerging materials shaped by technological culture. These artists treat systems themselves as a creative medium – it’s a practice with a rich artistic history that’s now coalescing into a new movement.
Heft is a team of artists working to grow this movement, propel its artists, and bring what is truly today’s avant-garde art into greater visibility, adoption, and influence.
Year One
Our first year is almost complete, presenting...
- 50 exceptional artists
- 9 major exhibitions
- 14 online releases
- 5 major museum acquisitions
- 4 international fairs
All while building the gallery space, practices, and program that lay the foundation for everything ahead. None of this would exist without the founding support of Ned Ryerson and Mary Pat Bing.
But building an ambitious program in today's art world is difficult.
—
Markets are hurting – traditional, crypto, and fine art alike. Galleries and platforms are closing. Attention is fragmented as web3 and traditional worlds collide, blend, and reshape. Logistics are complex, and running a lean operation at a high level takes its toll.
We are committed to persevering.
Interactive, kinetic installations and opportunities to commission collector-informed artworks
Feeding
the Movement
This movement is still early – it needs...
· A hub for connection and community
· High-end presentations for important art
· Systems-based work experienced in physical space
· New practices for a new art world
The importance of these needs has never been clearer, and Heft is uniquely and authentically positioned to meet the challenge.
But art movements do not crystalize overnight. They are built by artists – and by the patrons who believe in them. Movements are the result of intense conviction and a passionate community of believers, like the one we have. We're calling on you.
The Circle
Heft Circle is a patronage membership that powers the next phase of the gallery, funding the program to to match the scale of the movement it serves. It brings together collectors, artists, technologists, and supporters who believe this moment in art matters.
Heft is a gallery for everyone. The Circle is how our closest supporters ensure the mission keeps scaling – reaching new heights for the art and artists of this movement.
Supporting Heft accelerates a cycle that compounds for everyone involved...
Join our inner circle. Power the full circle.
Available for 7 Days Only
Opens May 6 at 1pm EST - Closes May 13
Mint directly on heftgallery.com – Powered by TokenWorks™
Limited to [TBD] membership tokens
Each contains a unique artwork that interprets the Heft circular form by one of the artists shaping the New Systems Movement. Artworks for Circle tokens revealed at the end of mint window.
$1000 / Circle
VESTING
50% of proceeds are held to vest to the gallery over the remainder of 2026. Supporters can “return” their token at any time during that period to receive back the unvested amount if they feel misaligned with the gallery.
SECONDARY MARKET
Heft Circles are intended for patronage and not speculation, but they may be sold on the Heft marketplace for any price higher than the vested “return” amount, with a 5% royalty (that further fuels the gallery mission).
PATRONS
There are benefits for every supporter (listed below), and for those who collect 3 Circles during the mint window and receive a 4th to gift or keep. Supporters with 10 Circles are recognized as Heft Patrons, which comes with special benefits.
THE FOUNDING CIRCLE
Heft Circles represent the founding supporters of the gallery, with one token also going to each participating artist, and a limited supply kept for the gallery to offer new patrons who find Heft.
10 Artworks From Every Artist
The growing list of artists participating in Heft Circle (we're updating this list regularly while responses come in).
The Benefits
Heft Circle is a patron commitment – the community grows when Heft grows. While participation is primarily about support, membership does include a number of tangible benefits alongside propelling the core mission.
Art
CIRCLE ARTWORK NFT
A unique Heft Circle digital artwork NFT, created by one of the participating artists and stored on Ethereum.
FORGED CIRCLE MEDALION
Your access pass at the gallery: a steel Circle medallion engraved with your membership – one per collector (an additional brass Circle for Patrons).
Access & Community
Earliest access to art
Circle members receive the earliest access to exhibition catalogs, releases, and select offerings. Notifications are delivered through the collector's preferred channel: Discord, Private Heft Circle Instagram account, and/or email.
SALON NIGHTS
Members are invited to recurring private Salon evenings at the gallery, bringing artists and collectors together in conversation, in person.
SHOP DISCOUNTS
Members receive 25% off HEFT merchandise, 10% off everything in the store, and first access to new drops, including limited artist goods released through the gallery.
ART GIFT(S)
Editions, generative works, experiments – something special will be given to our Circle members before the vesting period ends. Artists get paid in all cases, so the healthier the gallery is, the more we can give back to our Circle supporters.
ADVISING SESSION
One 30m consultation about your collecting goals + opportunities, including outside the limits of the gallery and digital art space, with founder Adam Berninger.
INSIDER COMMUNITY
A private Circle Instagram account + Discord channel for exclusive looks at new art, WIP previews, artist and gallery insights, live event feeds, and more that connects the community to what's happening IRL.
SPECIAL INVITATIONS
Circle members receive invitations to studio visits, experimental performances, artwork giveaways, private gallery events, and other gatherings for special experiences and opportunities to connect with each other.
FREE PRIVATE DINNER
Collectors with 10 or more Circles become Heft Patrons. Our Patrons receive a private gallery dinner with art experience for up to 10 guests, along with recognition in catalogs and online.
Why Patronage
Matters
Every major art movement has been sustained by the patrons who believed in it early. The Medici underwrote the Renaissance. Gertrude Stein hosted the modernists. Collectors and gallerists built the institutions that shaped contemporary art.
Today a new movement has emerged from the lineage of Systems art, shaped by the complexity and pervasive reach of technological culture.
It needs patrons too.
Heft Circle is for those who believe in the essential nature of this movement and are ready to fight for it.
Deep Personal
Commitment
Founder Adam Heft Berninger began working with digital creative tools in the early internet era, studied at RISD, collected from the NYC gallery scene, and shaped leading brands and art institutions as creative director.
Since 2021 he has collaborated on more than 80 projects with systems artists — forming the conviction that a defining movement in art is emerging.
Heft represents Adam's lifelong commitment to art shaped by technology and systems. The gallery exists because of that belief. Heft Circle is an invitation to build the next phase together.
The Plan
Already planned for year two – we'll go big on these major exhibitions and new initiatives with help from the Heft Circle:
Shows
KEVIN ESHERICK
FEB 2026
Provocative conceptual systems
NANCY BURSON
On View
Paintings and videos from a computational pioneer
Transmissions
MAY 2026
Experimental listening events paired with systems artworks
Ksawery Komputery
JUN 2026
Machine-driven identities
GROUP SHOW
JUL 2026
Critically anchoring the movement
AURIEA HARVEY
SEP 2026
Mythic sculptural worlds
SOLO TBA
OCT 2026
ASHLEY ZELINSKIE
NOV 2026
Art for the next space age
EMILY XIE
FEB 2027
A new aesthetic heritage
ALKAN AVCIOGLU
2027
Post-photographic visions
AND MORE
Initiatives
Heft Store
Systems art: books, objects, and apparel
Heft RELEASES
Special art series presented online and in our East Gallery
HEFT AUCTIONS
Monthly online auctions for coveted 1/1 artworks
HEFT Circle
Uniting a community to power the movement
Where it Goes
The Heft Circle funds us while we reach profitability, so we can sustain the movement long term. We'll do this through specific efforts that help artists sell their work, build their practice, and grow an international reputation:
- Staffing to develop collector relationships beyond the existing ecosystem, with new collectors, and with institutional collectors.
- Launching and growing initiatives that bring new attention, sustain engagement, and drive collecting activity
- Publishing stronger and more robust editorial and communications
- Producing even more ambitious artworks, exhibitions, and events
- Expanding reach through additional international fairs, and eventually new gallery territories
- Continuing to support emerging artists and critical shows
Join the Circle
We've accomplished a ton and are close to breaking through – but Heft Circle is what enables us to keep going, ensuring that we continue this mission to help essential artists gain recognition and value as we drive the movement forward.
If you believe this movement matters – and want to help grow it – we invite you to join.
See you back here on May 6
