From dazzling light shows to historical VR experiences
Galleries are constantly innovating and finding exciting new ways to showcase art. While there will always be a place for the traditional art gallery, many modern-day shows benefit from other elements too, such as video and live performance. Over the past couple of years, we’ve seen an influx of immersive exhibitions, offering a new chance to engage with art – and perhaps attract new audiences, too. Here are the ones worth visiting.
Immersive Exhibitions To Book Now
David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away)
Where? Lightroom, King’s Cross
When? Until 4 June 2023
David Hockney’s new immersive exhibition at King’s Cross’ Lightroom venue utilizes the growth of immersive art. But, imagined and curated by the man himself, the experience is enhanced by input from the artist’s own brain – in contrast to, for example, the plethora of Van Gogh immersive exhibitions that the artist played no part in.
Check out Ed Vaizey’s full review here
BOOK: lightroom.uk
Image: Installation of David Hockney’s Gregory Swimming Los Angeles March 31st 1982, Composite polaroid, © David Hockney
Outernet London
When? Ongoing
Where? Outernet London (Charing Cross Rd, London WC2H 8LH)
If you’re looking for a free immersive art exhibition, look no further than London’s new landmark cultural space, Outernet. With a rotating roster of art shown throughout the day – from mindfulness experience ‘Room To Breathe’ to interactive art driven by the movement of its viewers – this open-air digital exhibition space is situated just outside Tottenham Court Road Station; you can’t miss it.
BOOK: outernetglobal.com
Pictured: The Summer Palace.
Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirror Rooms
When? Ends 28 April 2024; currently booking until 30 September 2023
Where? Tate Modern
Still not managed to get your hands on a ticket for Yayoi Kusama’s Instagram-famous Infinity Mirror Rooms? Fear not: you have until next June to secure a booking, and more tickets are being released in the new year. The much-awaited exhibition arrived at Tate Modern this May after being postponed from its original date last year, complete with two spectacular installations. The first is Infinity Mirrored Room – Filled With The Brilliance of Life, a room featuring a walkway of mirrored tiles, with hundreds of small LED lights hanging from the ceiling. This sits alongside Chandelier of Grief, the centrepiece of which is a rotating chandelier of Swarovski crystal. Both work together to give viewers the experience of being in a seemingly endless space of reflections.
BOOK: tate.org.uk
Frameless
Where? 6 Marble Arch, London W1H 7AP
A new permanent immersive art exhibition space has opened in Marble Arch Place: Frameless. Drawing together over 40 artworks across four galleries, expect new interpretations of recognisable and timeless classics stretched across vast spaces and around bends, accompanied by a bespoke soundtrack.
Read our full review of Frameless here
BOOK: Adult tickets from £25, and child tickets from £15, with free admission for children under 5 years old. frameless.com
Image © Chris Orange
Mexican Geniuses: A Frida and Diego Immersive Experience
Where? Dock X London, Retail Park, Unit 1 Canada Water, Surrey Quays Rd, London, SE16 2XU
This spring, make sure to keep your ear to the ground for news on one of London’s most hotly anticipated exhibitions of the year: Mexican Geniuses: A Frida and Diego Immersive Experience. The show will bring to life the work of Mexico’s most famed painters, Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, in an explosion of colour and brushstrokes across giant screens. A VR experience will also be available, transporting visitors to the Mexican streets that inspired many of Frida and Diego’s paintings.
BOOK: mexicangeniuses.com
Image courtesy of Fever
Dopamine Land
Where? 79-85 Old Brompton Road, London, SW7 3LD
Calling all ASMR lovers, immersive experience fanatics or just those who fancy a boost of serotonin – South Ken’s newest immersive installation promises is the brainchild of Fever, and aims to boost those essential dopamine levels. Guests will enter on a multisensory journey through a collection of differently themed rooms, each intended to overload the senses, often through nostalgic nudges. You can embrace your inner child in the video-game style room, be transported to a festival with the woodland-style room lit with glowing lanterns or lose yourself in the Yayoi Kausama-inspired room with its hanging multicoloured-lights and mirrors. Each room will tantalise the senses and absorb the mind – the volume’s turned up high, the smells are evocative, and the decor is dazzling. End your journey in the rainbow-coloured warehouse-style bar at the end and finish off with one of their special and delicious bubble-tea cocktails.
Klimt: The Immersive Experience
Where? The Boiler House (152 Brick Lane, London, E1 6RU)
Experience Austrian modernist Gustav Klimt like never before at a 360-digital art show, launching next July in a yet to be announced London location. Floor-to-ceiling projections amid a 20,000 square foot light and sound space will allow visitors to step into a world of moving paintings and vibrant colour. A project from Exhibition Hub – the group behind the popular Van Gogh immersive exhibition, detailed below – the exhibition also features a virtual reality component where you can discover the inspiration behind eight of Klimt’s most iconic works.
BOOK: klimtexpo.com
Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience
Where? The Old Truman Brewery, 106 Commercial Street, London E1 6LZ
Fancy stepping inside some of the world’s most famous art works? Now’s your chance: Van Gogh is being brought to life in an all-consuming show at The Old Truman Brewery. Immerse yourself in more than 300 of his sketches, drawings and paintings through floor-to-ceiling digital projections, made possible by special video mapping technology. In a separate gallery, visitors can embark on a 10-minute VR experience which takes you through a day in the life of the artist, with insight into the inspiration behind some of his most acclaimed works including Bedroom at Arles and Starry Night Over The Rhone River.
BOOK: vangoghexpo.com
Main image: Installation of David Hockney’s Gregory Swimming Los Angeles March 31st 1982, Composite polaroid © David Hockney
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