Vincent Van Gogh’s life was remarkable. He worked tirelessly for his art and he suffered tremendously for them. One even famously captured a mutilation following a maddening row with Paul Gaugin: self-portrait with bandaged ears (1889). The tortured artist’s life carried into the bold strokes, emotionally evocative style evident on his artworks.
The dense paint, the vivid and typically opulent palette — and the dramatic, nearly rhythmic effect of Vincent Van Gogh’s works create the perfect medium for developing immersive exhibits. And the Van Gogh Exhibit in Los Angeles leads the pack.
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Where is the immersive Van Gogh Exhibit in Los Angeles?
The LA exhibit for immersive Van Gogh is at the Lighthouse ArtSpace on 6400 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. The massive venue serves as an entertainment multiplex that has become the exhibit space for other immersive exhibits, like Frida Kahlo.
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What are the dates for the Van Gogh exhibit in LA?
The interactive Van Gogh exhibit opened on May 27, 2021 and closed on March 20, 2022. Since it’s past the exhibit date, will you still be able to go see the Dutch painter’s works in large-scale installations?
The LightHouse ArtSpace isn’t exclusive to Hollywood. The venue is also located in Phoenix, Dallas, Las Vegas, Denver, Cleveland and Columbus (Ohio), and Minneapolis, among other cities. But the immersive experience in these locations have ended, including the Van Gogh SF. So if you’re going to San Francisco precisely for that cultural trip, you’ve missed it.
But other cities have set up other immersive Van Gogh shows, with some providing a multi-sensorial discovery of the Dutch painter’s masterpieces.
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Where else can you experience the Van Gogh exhibit?
“Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience” is another kind of tech, projection-based exhibit. This exhibit, which has been created with the same people behind the Stranger Things Drive Into Experience in LA, is set for New Orleans, Cincinnati and Raleigh (North Carolina). Locations have yet to be announced.
The digital art exhibit ran in Miami, New York and Washington D.C. The immersive Van Gogh exhibit also ran in Atlanta.
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Where is the Van Gogh Alive art exhibit?
Another kind of interactive way to experience Vincent Van Gogh’s masterpieces, the Van Gogh Alive show initially ran in Melbourne, Australia. Recent exhibitions have been running in America: Denver, Kansas City and St. Petersburg (Florida).
The multi-sensory exhibit is also running Indianapolis until May 2022. So if you’re in the state capital, head to the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields, at The Lume Indianapolis. You’ll find the sunflower room at the Van Gogh Alive art exhibition to be an incredible visual explosion of the radiant flower. It’s a mirrored room with sunflowers, and because this is a multi-sensory exhibit, you won’t just feast your eyes but enjoy the floral fragrance of this famed Van Gogh subject.
Also included in the Alive exhibition are the Van Gogh Bedroom and the Interpretative Gallery. Along with the Sunflower Room, these displays complete the sensorial experience of the Dutch painter’s works of art.
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How is the Van Gogh exhibit in LA different from the other immersive Van Gogh exhibits?
The Los Angele exhibit of Van Gogh’s works is called “Immersive Van Gogh” whereas the others are called “Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience” and “Van Gogh Alive.”
“Immersive Van Gogh” is run by the same people who did the Atelier des Lumières in Paris. “Immersive” features large-scale digital animations of, among others “The Bedroom,” “The Potato Eaters” and “Starry Night.” These animations are set to original songs from Luca Longobardi, an Italian multimedia composer.
“Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience” is run by the same team that created the “Stranger Things” drive-thru entertainment. This digital art show is also set to music but adds a virtual reality component to your experience. And that virtual reality experience will take you through Van Gogh’s day.
“Van Gogh Alive” is shorter, compared to the two massive shows, at 40 minutes. It covers 3,000 moving images of the Dutch painter’s works, also set to music. But it provides a multi-sensory exhibit. Touch the sunflowers that figured in Van Gogh’s masterpiece. Take a load off in his bedroom. Sit under starry evening skies.
All immersive exhibits, besides that of Van Gogh’s, aim to take you out of the passive experience of museum tours. It’s a thrilling way to “see” art and an effective way to encourage non-arty family and friends to go with you on those cultural tours.
When you want to make the most of your trip, buy a ticket to experience Van Gogh’s paintings as never before.
