Last night I was lucky enough to get a chance to take a sneak peek at the Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit in Denver which opens to the public tomorrow, September 30th.
I've been seeing this exhibition pop up all over my social media for months now as friends have checked it out for themselves in various cities across the country, and I've been super excited for it to open up here in Denver. If you've seen it on social media too (which I'm sure you probably have by now), let me just say that it's even better in real life! I knew it was going to be amazing, but I had no idea just how magical it would feel being in the room with all the paintings coming to life around me as classical music played. I really felt like I was transported to another place and time.
If you're not familiar with the Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit, be prepared to wowed! This exhibit features 500,000 cubic feet of projections of Vincent Van Gogh's famous paintings including Starry Night, Sunflowers, Bedroom in Arles and The Potato Eaters. The projections come to life on the walls, the floor, and various mirrored sculptures throughout the exhibit. The sculptures add a little extra magic to the experience with the projected images appearing on the mirrored surfaces from all angles.
Let's take a look...
The exhibition is set up in two large connecting rooms with the same projections playing in each. From one room you can view through archways to the other, and vice versa, adding a little extra depth to the art. The projections play on all four walls of each room, with many spilling onto the floor. The paintings move across the walls adding action to an otherwise still scene before merging beautifully from one to the next. Evocative music accompanies each artwork and includes original pieces by composer Luca Longobardi as well as classics such as Edith Piaf's "Non, je ne regrette rien", Handel's "Sarabande", and a recomposed "Adagio for strings". You can find a Spotify playlist of the exhibition's music here.
Throughout the exhibition you'll find white circles marked on the floor. These are spaced six feet apart and are there to encourage social distancing. There are also chairs dotted around for visitors to sit down and take in the projections.
One of the great things about the large size of the projections is that you can really see Van Gogh's brushstrokes in detail. The texture of the paint and the way that the colors blend really shows through in a magical way. Those brushstrokes really do look three dimensional. The texture of the canvas even showed up on my face when I took selfies!
Opening hours vary by date, but are generally 9am to 10pm Sunday through Thursday, and 9am to 1pm Friday and Saturday.
Timed entry tickets must be purchased online in advance at www.denvervangogh.com.
Tickets start at $39.99 off peak and $49.99 during peak periods.
Visitors must arrive during their allocated ticket time, but once you are in the exhibition you can stay as long as you like. The animated projections run for about half an hour and restart again right away. Most visitors watch them through twice.
The exhibition is ADA accessible and stroller friendly with accessible restrooms available in the lobby.
A gift shop is located onsite and has a good range of products including puzzles, notebooks, mugs, hats, and tote bags.
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