Michael Joseph Winkelmann (born June 20, 1981), known professionally as Beeple, is an American digital artist, graphic designer, and animator known for selling NFTs.

[1] In his art, he uses various media to create comical, phantasmagoric works which make political and social commentary while using pop culture figures as references.

British auction house Christie's said he is, "A visionary digital artist at the forefront of NFTs".

The auction house had previously sold Block 21, an NFT with accompanying physical painting for approximately $130,000 in October 2020.

[22] One of these NFTs, Crossroad, would change into one of two animations depending on the victor of the 2020 United States presidential election; it was sold for $66,666.66 and resold for $6.7 million in February 2021.

[27]On November 9, 2021, one of Beeple's artworks (Human One) was sold at Christie's for $28,958,000 to collector Ryan Zurrer.

After the sale, Human One was exhibited at the Castello di Rivoli Museum of Contemporary Art in April 2022.

[30] In 2024, Beeple unveiled his new generative sculpture "The Tree of Knowledge" at Italian Tech Week.

Influenced by real-time data, including news channels, stock and cryptocurrency tickers, the sculpture is both a critique to modern society and a call to action for urgent environmental awareness.

The piece was sold to investment management company Lingotto, with proceeds supporting non-profit initiatives all over the world.

Beeple Studios is a 50,000 sq ft space in Charleston which houses offices, lab spaces, a white wall gallery, and an immersive experiential space for showcasing digital art, and has been described as “a weird mix of Warhol’s studio and Bell Labs.” The studio had its grand opening on March 11, 2023 with a large event that had the biggest names in the crypto, NFT, and traditional art worlds in attendance.