Steve Pikelny (American, b. 1989) is a Brooklyn-based artist and engineer whose conceptual, often participatory works use blockchain technology to satirize money, finance and internet culture.,Outside his art practice he has founded a string of satirical companies, including FastCashMoneyPlus.biz, RonaMetch.co, Friendworld.social and FakeBullshit.news, for which he continues to act as CEO, CTO, COO and CFO.
His generative collection Dopamine Machines (2023), released on Art Blocks, is built from HTML and CSS and lets viewers trigger flashing visual effects, synthesized voices and an “Overdrive” mode, framed by the artist as a knowingly over-hyped, casino-like experience complete with a gambling-helpline warning.Individual editions from the series have entered private collections, including Dopamine Machines #270 (2023).
As part of the Museum of the Moving Image's Site Interruption series with the Tezos Foundation, Pikelny created MoMI Upgrade Activation (2026), a JavaScript- and HTML/CSS-based takeover of the museum's own website.,He has also donated proceeds from some of his work to charity, including an open-edition ERC-1155 token whose proceeds went to Planned Parenthood via Endaoment.In 2025 his work was included in the group exhibition “Groundwork” at Heft gallery, alongside artists including Zach Lieberman, Auriea Harvey, Helena Sarin and Rafaël Rozendaal.His work is also documented among the 137 artists featured in Collecting Art Onchain, a book-and-NFT project pairing artist credits with interviews of web3 collectors.
