Beeple's New Creation Turns Heads at Art Basel

Robot dogs with the faces of tech giants are roaming Art Basel Miami Beach, thanks to digital artist Beeple's latest installation, "Regular Animals (2025)." Part of the new Zero 10 digital art section, the display features canines with hyper-realistic heads depicting figures like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, as well as artists Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, and Beeple himself, the Art Newspaper reports. Each robotic sculpture, limited to two editions plus an artist's proof and priced at $100,000, quickly sold out during the event's VIP preview, except for the Bezos version, which isn't for sale.

The robotic dogs aren't just for show—they interact with visitors by dispensing certificates of authenticity as they move inside a custom pen. Each certificate, featuring a QR code, enables buyers to claim a matching NFT, blending the physical and digital art worlds. The robots flash "poop mode" on a screen before dispensing prints or certificates from their rear ends, CNN reports. Beeple explained that the robots continually photograph their surroundings, and then reinterpret those images in the style of the figure they represent. For example, Picasso's dog processes images in a cubist style.

There's a performative aspect as well: the robots are periodically recharged and returned to the pen in a choreographed exchange. The free certificates humorously declare the artwork "100% pure GMO-free, organic dogs---," nodding to Beeple's irreverent approach. Some robots produce NFTs, while others generate only prints and certificates. Beeple, who rose to global attention after selling an NFT for $69.3 million at Christie's in 2021, says the project explores how artificial intelligence—and the visions of artists and tech leaders—shape our perception of the world.

"We're increasingly going to view the world through AI," he told the Art Newspaper, "and also through the lens of people like Musk and Zuckerberg, who influence what we see more than anyone else." The NFT market peaked in 2022 and has been in steep decline since, Bloomberg noted earlier this year. Art Basel, however, says digital art is "finally achieving mainstream acceptance in the art world" and showing signs of a rebound. The art fair says its annual survey of high-net worth individuals found that the average share of digital art in collections, which hit 15% during the NFT boom, is now 13%, up from just 3% last year.