Gold cube worth $11.7 million appeared in New York's Central Park; here's what happened

New York has always been known as the city which never sleeps. On Wednesday, 2 February, 2022, it became the city of gold and bling. A huge block of gold appeared in New York City’s Central Park on Wednesday. The cube, a conceptual artwork created by Niclas Castello, was made to promote a new cryptocurrency, which was launched at the same time. Made of over 186 kilos of 24-carat gold, the Castello Cube, as it has been called, was made to promote the cryptocurrency “Castello Coin”, according to NDTV. It measures a foot and a half and is about a quarter of an inch in thickness, as per media reports. The artwork has a hollow core and was made created in over 4,500 hours. “Never before in the history of humanity has such an enormous amount of gold been cast into a single, pure object. Gold - the eternal metal. Symbol of the sun, of light, of the good,” Castello stated in a description of his artwork, as per reports.  

A non-fungible token (NFT) related to the artwork will also be launched later this month. The gold cube is valued at $11.7 million, according to The Daily Mail. The cube was displayed at Central Park with its own security detail. Several people braved the snowy winter weather and came to view the golden cube displayed in the iconic spot. Castello has stated that the artwork was not for sale. According to reports, he has explained his reasons for displaying the cube in Central Park. As per the artist, the artwork was put on show at the iconic spot to emphasise its rarity. In a statement to Artnet News, the 43-year-old German artist said that the idea behind the cube was to make “something that is beyond our world-that is intangible.” Castello’s team said that the conceptual artist had cast the cube in Aarau, Switzerland. As per reports, the Castello Cube required a special handmade kiln to size and volume of gold as well the extreme temperatures required to melt it. The Castello Cube was displayed at Central Park for just a day, before it moved and taken to a private dinner. According to a report in NDTV, the dinner was attended by several celebrities. The present whereabouts of the cube are not known.