Step into van Gogh's world: New immersive experience opens in Surrey (VIDEO)
A new exhibition coming to Surrey this week will allow guests to immerse themselves in one of the world’s most influential artists from the 19th century — Vincent van Gogh.
Starting Wednesday, February 1, Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience will open its doors to an audience that can take in over 300 of the post-Impressionist artist’s finest works projected onto tall walls and expansive floors.
Iconic works of the artist include paintings like Starry Night and Sunflowers.
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Fanny Curtat, the art history consultant with Beyond Van Gogh, explains many people are drawn to van Gogh’s work because of its vibrant colours and intensity.
Seeing it in a museum, she says it can feel like the work is coming towards you. By projecting the artist’s work through larger-than-life projections, “it’s just that step forward, where you feel like you’re inside the painting.”
“You’re really setting foot into his palette, into his world, into everything he wanted to share with the world. And it’s something quite unique to have such a large scale,” Curtat explains.
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When art is expanded on such a large scale as the projections of Beyond Van Gogh, Curtat says, the audience will be “entirely engulfed in it.”
While on a smaller scale, people will be able to notice the detail of the artist’s work, when expanded, folks can see “the impact of the colours, the way they’re put side by side not really blended, the way he plays upon colour.”
Curtat says she wants people who may not have a great knowledge of art history or van Gogh to not feel intimidated.
She explains that this is why Beyond Van Gogh has mended modern art with a 19th-century artist.
She says she hopes this space allows people to see how impactful his work continues to be today and how it can be translated into multiple mediums.
“There’s so much that’s still relevant, not just in the style … but also just in the subject, the intention, the intensity, the power of it, the healing quality of nature, the fact that art can have this therapeutic meaningful presence in one’s life, all of these things really translate really well to a modern-day situation.”
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Curtat hopes this space will encourage people without a vast knowledge of art to feel more comfortable in traditional art museum space.
“This is never going to be a replacement for a museum experience for the aura of an original van Gogh. But there’s something just phenomenal about being able to walk into one. So it’s really about having more experiences of art and allowing people to see all of these different facets.”
When you arrive at the Agriplex at Cloverdale Fairgrounds, you’ll journey from the Education Room into the unique Waterfall Room and then into the stunning Immersive Experience Room.
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The paintings are freed from their frames, shifting and swirling around you as van Gogh’s dreams, thoughts, and words are shared to a symphonic score.
Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience is presented by Paquin Entertainment Group and runs for a limited time.
Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience
When: February 1 to March 5, 2023
Time: Sunday to Thursday, 10 am to 8 pm; Friday and Saturday, 10 am to 9 pm
Where: Agriplex at Cloverdale Fairgrounds — 17798 62nd Avenue, Surrey, BC
Tickets: Starting at $31.99 for adults, $23.99 for children ages 5 to 15, plus ticketing fees. Purchase online
With files from Daniel Chai