Hall des Lumières, New York’s Art Projection Palace, Opens with Klimt Show

Works by the Austrian symbolist illuminate the walls of a former Manhattan bank, which has been repurposed as a permanent centre for digital art experiences.

The Hall des Lumières opened today with a Gustav Klimt exhibition that will continue until at least the end of the year.

The exhibition Gustave Klimt: Gold in Motion is divided into six sequences exploring the art and legacy of the famed founder of the Vienna Secessionist movement. It features 30-foot-high luminous shifting projections of Klimt's art precisely mapped to the building's architecture and accompanied by a tailor-made musical soundtrack.

Hall des Lumières occupies the renovated teller hall and vault of the Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank, one of the first skyscrapers in Manhattan to be built in the highly decorative Beaux Art Style. Creative Director Gianfranco Iannuzzi described the building as 'emblematic of the story of New York City'.

'We are so excited to be able to open this part of NYC history to the public once again after it laid dormant for years', he told Ocula Magazine.

Hall des Lumières is French company Culturespaces' first permanent location in North America. It will present the kind of immersive digital art experiences previously shown in other historic locations, such as the Atelier des Lumières, which inhabits a former Paris foundry.

Immersive art exhibitions that use projections and other forms of mixed reality to explore famous artists' work have become something of a global trend. Vincent van Gogh experiences have become so widespread they now have a dedicated Wikipedia page. In April, The Guardian's Hettie O'Brien asked whether the phenomenon of ticketed digital art experiences is the future of art or a new kind of overpriced theme park.

According to Iannuzzi, the advantage of digital experiences overseeing an original artwork is that it allows guests to be 'inside of the world of the artist' and to have 'a unique sensory experience'.

'People can choose their own experiences as well', he said, 'moving around the venue, experiencing the art in a way unique to them, but also shared with the other guests.'

He argued that digital exhibitions could be complementary to seeing the artworks they're based on.

'We hope people that discover artists in this immersive way will be curious and encouraged to go see the original artwork in museums and galleries,' he said.

Gold in Motion is accompanied by the creations of studio Nohlab and filmmaker François Vautier. Hall des Lumières has not yet announced any future exhibitions. —[O]