Immersive installation of the iconic artist’s work to open in November at The Dalí Museum
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – From his famous “Starry Night” to his radiant “Sunflowers,” Vincent van Gogh’s vibrant work invites viewers to revel in color, light and sound. This fall and winter, Dalí Museum visitors will experience Van Gogh’s works in an immersive art experience that harnesses multi-sensory technology, including projection and synchronized music, to open a new window into the celebrated painter’s artistic genius.
The Dalí is the first North American venue to host this mesmerizing version of Van Gogh Alive, which will be on view in the Museum’s third floor Hough Family Wing from Nov. 21, 2020-April 11, 2021. Van Gogh Alive offers an innovative way to engage with the work of one of the most popular artists of all time. Visitors will feel the sensation of walking right into Van Gogh’s paintings – an experience that is both educational and inspiring.
The exhibition features more than 3,000 Van Gogh images at enormous scale, viewed through high-definition projectors and synchronized to a powerful classical score. Cinema-quality surround sound amplifies the emotion generated by the works themselves. In addition to the iconic works featured, visitors can examine Van Gogh’s inspiration via photographs and video displayed alongside them. The installationis powered by SENSORY4™, a unique system developed by Grande Experiences of Melbourne, Australia.
“Dalí seems to intersect in his interests and life with nearly every significant cultural movement, event or person of our era – Van Gogh is no exception,” said Dr. Hank Hine, executive director of The Dalí Museum. “Van Gogh and Dalí shared a passion for landscape and the portal it provides to a hidden world. A glimpse of Van Gogh’s world will be transformed onto the walls and floors of our gallery, providing a dramatic and awe-inspired experience for our audience.”
Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) was a Dutch post-impressionist painter who is considered one of the most influential figures in the history of Western art. Van Gogh grew up in a religious family and struggled with mental illness; mystery surrounds the circumstances that led to his cutting off his own ear and to his suicide at the age of 37. His artwork is celebrated for its intense color and the pioneering use of a technique known as impasto.
The Dalí Museum is committed to using technology to create digital and interactive encounters that enhance visitors’ understanding and enjoyment. Dalí fans can step into one of his quintessential surrealist works in Dreams of Dalí, an award-winning Virtual Reality (VR) experience available on VR streaming sites; find new meaning in Dalí’s complex monumental oil paintings via the Museum’s Augmented Reality (AR) experience on The Dalí app available for iOS and Android; and visitors to the Museum are greeted by a reimagined Salvador Dalí which employs artificial intelligence technology in Dalí Lives. By partnering with Grande Experiences, The Dalí’s presentation of Van Gogh Alive builds on the Museum’s commitment to artistic innovation, inviting visitors to experience another provocative artist in an entirely new, entirely accessible and entirely transformative way.
Currently at The Dalí
Diego & Frida: A Visual History features over 60 reproductions of photographs that delve into the lives of one of the most fascinating and tumultuous couples in the history of art, Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. Their rich and harrowing 25-year relationship is told through images captured by their friends and family, including Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Nickolas Muray, Edward Weston, Guillermo Kahlo and others. This exhibit is on display in the Raymond James Community Room. It is on loan from The Consulate of Mexico in Orlando and is made possible by the Museo Casa Estudio Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo.
Dalí’s Sacred Science – Religion and Mysticism presents five mixed-media print suites of rarely displayed works from the Museum’s vault: Mythology, Don Quixote, Aliyah, Moses and Monotheism and The Alchemy of the Philosophers.Created during Dalí’s later period when the artist turned his mind to the scientific and the spiritual, the suites build on ideas originally explored in Dalí’s 1951 Manifeste Mystique. Written texts by Dalí and Sigmund Freud accompany the visual works. The exhibit is on display in the Hough Family Wing.
At Home with Dalí features a diverse group of portraits by five photographers – Horst P. Horst, Ricardo Sans, Melitó Casals, Lies Wiegman and Robert Descharnes. The 40 images, dating from the 1950s and early 1960s, provide an intimate view of Dalí in his home environment in Spain. The artist is seen climbing on the rocks of Costa Brava with his wife Gala, relaxing in his Port Lligat home, working on paintings in his studio and much more. The exhibit is on display in the Wittner Gallery of the Tom & Mary James Wing.
Health & Safety at The Dalí
The Dalí continues to implement procedures to help protect the health and safety of visitors, volunteers, members and staff. The Museum is operating at reduced capacity via timed ticketing and has reinforced physical distancing reminders throughout the Museum. All staff and visitors are required to wear masks and have a thermal temperature check upon entering the building. Plexi screens and hand-sanitizer stations are placed in key locations. All payments at admissions, parking, store and café must be via credit card only. More information about The Dalí’s safety precautions can be found at TheDali.org/safety.
About The Dalí Museum
The Dalí Museum, located in the heart of picturesque downtown St. Petersburg, Florida, is home to an unparalleled collection of over 2,400 Salvador Dalí works, including nearly 300 oil paintings, watercolors and drawings, as well as more than 2,100 prints, photographs, posters, textiles, sculptures and objets d’art. The Museum’s nonprofit mission, to care for and share its collection locally and internationally, is grounded by a commitment to education and sustained by a culture of philanthropy.
The Dalí is recognized internationally by the Michelin Guide with a three-star rating; has been deemed “one of the top buildings to see in your lifetime” by AOL Travel News; and named one of the ten most interesting museums in the world by Architectural Digest. The building itself is a work of art, including a geodesic glass bubble, nicknamed The Enigma, featuring 1,062 triangular glass panels, a fitting tribute to Salvador Dalí’s legacy of innovation and transformation. Explore The Dalí anytime with the free Dalí Museum App, available on Google Play and in the App Store. The Dalí Museum is located at One Dalí Boulevard, St. Petersburg, Florida 33701.
For more information visit TheDali.org.
About Grande Experiences
Grande Experiences, the creator and promoter of Van Gogh Alive, specializes in the creation, design, production, promotion and installation of large-scale exhibitions with broad cultural appeal and engaging, entertaining and educational content. From concept to completion, Grande Experiences creates visually and technically stunning masterpieces and transports them around the world. Its experiences have travelled to over 145 cities across six continents, to audiences in excess of 17 million people. Grande Experiences is based in Melbourne, Australia, with satellite offices in the UK and the US. Grande Exhibitions also owns and operates Museo Leonardo da Vinci, a permanent museum in a prestigious central location in Rome, Italy.
What is SENSORY4™?
Developed by Grande Experiences, SENSORY4™ is a unique system that combines multi-channel motion graphics, cinema-quality surround sound and up to 40 high-definition projectors to provide one of the most exciting multi-screen environments in the world. The resulting experience is dynamic, informative and visually spectacular. Incredibly detailed images flow through the mass of projectors and merge with digital surround sound to saturate the space in a breathtaking immersive display.
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Media Contact: Amber Hendrickson | Blue Water Communications
amber@bluewatercommunications.biz | 800.975.3212