I’ve been seeing the advertisements all over the place and was so excited to finally go see it in person for myself – the Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit NYC.
As they mention on their website, “From creators of the blockbuster show in Paris seen by over 2 million visitors and still wowing crowds in Toronto, the premiere of the Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit will bring the art of Vincent to life in New York.” It’s 300,000 cubic feet of projection of a beautiful piece immersing you in some of Vincent Van Gogh’s best works. The installation includes the Les Mangeurs de pomme de terre (The Potato Eaters, 1885), La Nuit étoilée (Starry Night, 1889), Les Tournesols (Sunflowers, 1888), and La Chambre à coucher (The Bedroom, 1889), and so much more.
As of the time that I went (July 2021), they were still requiring masks throughout the space. Parking is right there but they only allow up to 2 hours. When you walk in, there are three rooms to choose from. Each room is showing the exact same film. The first and second are pretty much exactly the same but the third is bigger, has chairs, and seems a bit more immersive since it also projects on the floor.
You can buy regular tickets, tickets to their immersive yoga experience, or have a date night which gives you access to your own date night booth in the third room. Inside each room there are also reflective sculptures to give the pieces a bit more depth.
Overall, it was a really cool experience. Aside from the 30-40 minute (I’m guessing on that) projected film, there isn’t much else aside from the gift shop. I was expecting there to be a bit more to do but it definitely lit a creative fire under me. Knowing a bit of Van Gogh’s history personally and artistic, it’s so fantastic to see his pieces reimagined like this.
Note: there are two Van Gogh exhibits currently in Manhattan, make sure you’re buying tickets to the right one and go to the right place (this one is on the East side).
Also, this has nothing to do with the exhibit but I’m a huge Doctor Who fan and I showed this clip to the people I was with just to add a bit of perspective to Van Gogh and his short time.
1 thought on “Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit NYC”