The Wild Within
The Wild Within is a series of artworks that bring new life into abandoned buildings from a bygone era.
Based on real-world physical spaces, an animated rebirth into a digital realm is created.
Over the course of several years, Ryan Koopmans and his partner, Alice Wexell, travel to unique sites around the globe, exploring ruins and photographing architecture in dramatic states of transition.
Back in the studio, they digitally sculpt vegetation, refine the architectural images, and bring motion to the scenes with the intention of reviving the empty spaces, essentially bringing life back into the rooms.
The results are a surreal collision between the past and future, natural and manmade, physical and digital, and the real and imaginary.
The aim of the artwork is to create a sense of surreal tranquility whilst referencing the themes of architectural history and its intricate relationship with the natural world.
Many of the buildings depicted in The Wild Within have been demolished in recent years, underscoring the series’ meditation on the passage of time, growth, and decay.
The project’s first release, focused on the Georgian town of Tskaltubo, debuted on 24 March 2021.
This began the genesis chapter of a project that has been widely celebrated, exhibited and acquired by some of the World's premier collectors and institutions of digital art.
November 10, 2025 - January 23, 2026
Exhibited 24 artworks in one of the largest galleries in the region, with a focus on the greater Middle East.
AUCTIONS
The Post-War & Contemporary Art
Day Sale
October, 2024
Collected for 57, 400 USD
The first artwork ever inscribed on Bitcoin to be auctioned in a live sale at Christie’s, and the only digital artwork in the The Post-War & Contemporary Art Day Sale.
NEWSLETTER
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Outernet
London, UK
Presented by Digital Art Week
Large-scale immersive digital screens and displays activated within a high-impact public environment in the city’s entertainment district.
Vogue Magazine: Buildings in Bloom
December 2025 Print and Online
Vogue Arabia features The Wild Within by Ryan Koopmans & Alice Wexell as the exhibition to see this season.
Digital &
Physical
All of the artworks exist in two formats.
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Video with motion
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Archival pigment prints
"We breathe new life into architectural spaces and envision a world where nature and structure coexcist in delicate, dreamlike balance."
Collected via Christie's
Included in Christie’s Next Wave: The Miami Edit, The Thought of You was exhibited in Miami during Art Basel and later auctioned online, where it achieved the highest sale in the auction.
THE PROCESS
Behind the Scenes
The artworks are rooted in photographs that we take of distinctive architectural sites around the world, which we carefully research, visit, and document.
Our process begins with identifying locations of social, political, historical, and architectural significance.
We then travel to these sites, often for extended periods, photographing interiors and structures that align with our conceptual and aesthetic intentions.
This stage involves weeks of online research, followed by on-the-ground exploration in search of hidden or forgotten architectural spaces.
Once the photographic documentation is complete, we return to the studio and begin the lengthy process of transforming the material into three-dimensional artworks, developed with meticulous attention to detail.
CONTEXT
Art Historical Context
The Capriccio movement of artists during the 1600-1700s who blended architectural ruins, archeology and nature.
They painted overgrown structures, combining fact and fiction when depicting natural and manmade subject matter.
These concepts are similar to how we approach The Wild Within, where a combination of different real-life and digital techniques are used to tell a story about and the cyclical nature of time.
PROVENANCE
Our Collectors
Collectors Box
All artworks are accompanied by a signed certificate of authenticity and a digital memory device.
Blockchain technology is also integrated to provide the most robust and verifiable form of provenance available today.
2025-2026
Abu Dhabi Art
Art Mumbai
Art Dubai
Dubai Design Week
Contemporary Istanbul
Ryan Koopmans
RYAN KOOPMANS
Ryan Koopmans (BA, MFA) is a Canadian-Dutch artist whose work examines the built environment and the societies shaped by it. He has worked as a full-time professional lens-based artist since 2007. His book Vantage (2019) explores surreal architectural forms within the world’s megacities and urban landscapes. Koopmans’ work is exhibited and collected internationally and has been featured by WIRED, Architectural Digest, CNN, Vogue, GQ, The Guardian, and Mercedes-Benz, among others.
ALICE WEXELL
Alice Wexell is a Swedish 3D artist and photographer from Stockholm, Sweden. She is interested in experiencing and creating surreal environments through new technologies. Wexell has worked around the world on digital art and photography projects, as well as assignments for the world's top brands, with Koopmans for the past two decades.
Alice
Wexell
The Durrës International Biennale of Contemporary Art
Durres, Albania
Ryan Koopmans & Alice Wexell represented the Swedish Pavilion with an installation of artworks displayed in the former Royal Villa of Durres.
Solo Exhibition
Montreal, Canada
0x Society Gallery
Exhibition of the first chapter of The Wild Within focusing on artworks created from Tskaltubo, Georgia.
EXHIBITIONS
Exhibitions of The Wild Within
2026
2026 - Dubai, UAE - Solo Exhibition at Leila Heller Gallery
2025
2025 - Dubai, UAE - Solo Exhibition at Leila Heller Gallery
2025 - Abu Dhabi, UAE - Abu Dhabi Art Fair with Leila Heller Gallery
2025 - Amsterdam, The Netherlands - Rosewood Hotel x Nxt Museum
2025 - Mumbai, India - Art Mumbai with Leila Heller Gallery
2025 - Dubai, UAE - Editions Art Fair with Leila Heller Gallery
2025 - Istanbul, Turkey - Contemporary Istanbul Art Fair with Leila Heller Gallery
2025 - Mumbai, India - MASH Art Ball with UNICEF India
2025 - Milan, Italy - Artificial Beauty at Fabbrica Del Vapore
2025 - Milan, Italy - Milan Design Week showcase at Santo Sofia 27
2025 - London, UK - MCube Digital Showcase at Ideaworks London
2025 - Stockholm, Sweden - Showcase at Miss Clara Boutique Hotel
2025 - London, UK - Asprey: Private Showcase for Asprey Studio Mayfair Clients
2025 - London, UK - 'Now Trending' year takeover of Outernet Global
2025 - Hong Kong - 'The Collectors Dinner' during Art Basel Hong Kong with TAEX
2025 - Paris, France - Le Bristol Hotel - Bristol After Dark Featured Artist
2025 - Paris, France - Through Rose-Colored Glasses - Group Show, Artverse Gallery
2025 - Paris, France - Vivid Ordinals Showcase at the Grande halle de la villette
2024
2024 - London, UK - Christie's Post War & Contemporary Art Day Sale Exhibition
2024 - Miami, USA - SCOPE Miami during Art Basel presented by White Walls Gallery
2024 - Miami, USA - The Bitcoin Art Awards: First Prize - Genesis Project of the Year
2024 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Enter Art Fair
2024 - Marfa, Texas - The Wild Within presented by White Walls Gallery
2024 - Durres, Albania - First International Biennale of Contemporary Art
2024 - Montreal, Canada - The Wild Within presented by Suburbs Gallery
2024 - London, UK - Photo London with Leila Heller Gallery
2024 - Nashville, USA - The BitGala at Bitcoin Nashville
2024 - Nashville, USA - Inscribing Atlantis Exhibition
2024 - London, UK - Ideaworks Studio with Digital Art Week London
2024 - Paris, France - Metaversal x Lumen Prize, The Future of Art
2024 - Belgium - 760 screens nationwide by Clear Channel x Artcrush Gallery
2024 - Paris, France - SuperRare Showcase at IHAM Gallery
2024 - Reggio Emilia, Italy - Cabinets of Ether
2023
2023 - Dubai, UAE - Christie's Art Auction House and Exhibition Space
2023 - Dubai, UAE - Luxeverse at Museum of The Future
2023 - Zug, Switzerland - Spice Journeys Exhibition at Unpaired Gallery
2023 - Istanbul, Turkey - NFTIST Digital Art Exhibition at Planeth
2023 - New Delhi, India - MASH Gala with BENNFT Gallery
2023 - Barcelona, Spain - Lezar House Group Exhibition
2023 - Amsterdam, The Netherlands - MET Exhibition at Westergasfabriek
2023 - Los Angeles, USA - Outliers Exhibition at Foundry Gallery by PROOF
2023 - Mumbai, India - Architectural Digest Design Show with BENNFT Gallery
2023 - Seoul, South Korea - Art Innovation Gallery during Frieze Art Fair
2023 - Seoul, South Korea - Exhibition by Trippy Labs with Korea Blockchain Week
2023 - Austin TX, USA - Group Exhibition at Permissionless II Summit
2023 - Boston MA, USA - Pellas Gallery at Boston Blockchain Week
2023 - Stockholm, Sweden - Way Gallery at Epicenter Stockholm
2023 - Tokyo, Japan - Reach For The Future Exhibition
2023 - Cannes, France - Jane Goodall Institute Auction at Cannes Film Festival
2023 - NYC, USA - SuperRare Event at South Street Seaport
2023 - NYC, USA - Unfold x SHILLR exhibition
2023 - NYC, USA - Transient Labs Outliers at Oculus World Trade Center
2023 - NYC, USA - Crypt Gallery x Dream Downtown
2023 - Paris, France - Natively Digital at Sotheby's France
2023 - Boston, USA - Steve Aoki Hiroquest Tour
2022
2022 - Miami, USA - Monolith at SCOPE Miami Art Week
2022 - Miami, USA - Floating Pixels at Miami Art Week
2022 - Miami, USA - Unfold x SHILLR exhibition at Miami Art Week
2022 - Montreal, Canada - SuperRare & 0x Society - The Wild Within
2022 - Prague, Czech Republic - NFCastle at House of Lobkowicz
2022 - Los Angeles, USA - ‘Frame of Mind, State of Time, Life Online’
2022 - Beijing, China - Yongle Auction Spring 2022
2022 - NYC, USA - MODA presents A Question For Time exhibition
2022 - NYC, USA - SuperRare Gallery x Jonathan Little exhibition
2022 - NYC, USA - Ben Skaar Curation at the South Street Seaport
2022 - NYC, USA - Time Square Showcase by NFT NYC
2022 - NYC, USA - The Pyramid Screen by NFTSea
2022 - Venice, Italy - Decentral Art Pavilion
2022 - NYC, USA - Crypt Gallery x Dream Downtown
2022 - Miami, USA - Blackdove Gallery at BTC Miami
2022 - Liverpool, UK - NFT Liverpool
2022 - Stockholm, Sweden - Way Gallery
2022 - New York, USA - SuperRare Monolith
2022 - Stockholm, Sweden - OtherLands NFT Festival
2021
2021 - Montreal, Canada - 0x Society
2021 - Calgary, Canada - Photoville 'The Fence'
2021 - Tokyo, Japan - NEO Shibuya Screen
2021 - Miami, USA - SuperRare Monolith
2021 - Miami, USA - The Temporal Gallery at Flagler Street
2021 - Miami, USA - MoDa The Wall at Factory Town
2021 - Dubai, UAE - WOW Summit
FEATURED IN
PRESS
Select Press of The Wild Within
Vogue Magazine: Arabia - Exhibition Feature
GQ Middle East: The Best Art Exhibitions to Visit This December
Arab News: ‘The Wild Within’ sees artists breathe new life into Mideast buildings
The National: Exhibition envisions UAE architecture reclaimed by nature
BOTTO: The First Botto-Human Collaborative Artwork
The Art Newspaper - From Ownership to Ordinals
Manifold: Ryan Koopmans on Crafting Enduring Digital Art
Opensea: In Conversation with Ryan Koopmans & Alice Wexell
Elle Magazine India: An Evening of Art and Advocacy
Decrypt - Dynamic Ordinals Artwork Will Be First Ever Auctioned at Christie's
Crypto News - Christie's Sells it's First Bitcoin Ordinals
Moments in Time: AOI Featured Artist
Bitcoin Magazine - An Interview Regarding 'The Origin' Inscription Artwork
Cool Hunting Highlights Photo London 2024
WePresent by WeTransfer - The Duo Digitally Reviving Abandoned Buildings
Design Boom - The Enchanted Hour: A Hypnotic Cuckoo Clock
Department of Cultural & Environmental Heritage at the University of Milan
Visual Atelier 8 - A Mesmerizing Artwork Merging Time & Imagination
The Inspiration Grid - The Enchanted Hour: Artwork that interacts with time of day
NFT NOW - ‘The Enchanted Hour’: Architectural Marvel Captured Onchain
SuperRare Magazine - Curated Conversations: Botto with Ryan Koopmans
HypeMoon by HypeBeast - 'Sanctuary' - Immersive Artwork
Visual Atelier 8 - 'Sanctuary' - A Meditative Digital Artwork
I See You Gallery - Interview with Ryan Koopmans
Condé Nast Traveler - Deserted Soviet Town Is Attracting New Visitors Through Art
Tabi Labo - Garden Of The Gods
New York Post - Jim Carrey Buys NFT
0x Society - Interview with Ryan Koopmans
Visual Atelier 8 - Surreal Architectural Realms By Ryan Koopmans
Fast Company - These Abandoned Soviet Buildings Got A Gorgeous Makeover
Design Boom - Abandoned Soviet Architecture Digitally Revived
SuperRare Editorial 2021 - The Wild Within
Architectural Digest - Photographer Spent Five Years Capturing Soviet-Era Spas
Calvert Journal - Home From Home
CNN - The Abandoned Soviet-era Spas A Community Of Refugees Calls Home
GQ Magazine - Inside The City That Time Forgot
WIRED - The Abandoned Soviet Spas Inhabited by Georgian Refugees
PRESS
Podcasts & Audio Interviews
In Conversation with Ryan Koopmans & Lars Seier Christensen at Enter Art Fair, Copenhagen
Panel Discussion: The Future of Art x Lumen Prize in Paris, France
The Future of Art w/ Roger Dickerman: Ryan Koopmans - Architecture, Nature & Long Term Vantage Point
PROMPT3D hosted by SHILLR: Conversation with Ryan Koopmans
NorCal and Shill Season 1 Episode 92: The Wild Within
Botto Talks: From Curation to Collab: Ryan Koopmans & Alice Wexell
Scrapbook - Episode 4: A Conversation with Ryan Koopmans
