At the end of November last year, Korea’s large scale digital art gallery – ARTE MUSEUM – opened their first (and still only) location in North America, on the Las Vegas Strip. It’s part of a burgeoning trend of immersive experiences in the city, and sits amongst seven locations for the gallery around the world.
While large scale projection art is nothing new – VIVID Festival in Sydney, for one, have been raising the bar on this for some time – the indoor “immersive experience” really became a notable trend around the world during the pandemic. You may remember things like the Immersive exhibitions popping up around the world.
ARTE is no exception to this, with their first permanent location opening in Jeju, South Korea in September 2020, by the design company d’strict. At the time, they were most well known for the art piece “WAVE”.
The museum was an extension of this piece’s theme – that of “ETERNAL NATURE”. In fact, you’ll get up close and personal with several “waves” during your tour of the gallery, like “Beach Aurora”, which features in the header of this article. And then there’s “Waterfall Infinite” which speaks for itself…
More than a dozen works sit on permanent display, all designed to expand the form, and entice the senses – something they do impressively effectively. Expect sound, video art and mirrors to all play a role – but pay close attention to what you’re smelling, too. Take their art “Garden” for instance, which has a mix of “Masterpieces” (not unlike the Immersive experiences mentioned earlier), and special exhibitions – like a look at art from the Joseon Dynasty which is currently on display.
In this room, the smell of roses and lilacs will make you feel like you’re indeed lost in a literal garden of art.
And no immersive art gallery would be complete without some form of an infinity room, like those popularlised by Kusama. Below is a look at one such room, “Star Raindrops”.
Though most are experiences on a loop, some are far more interactive. One of my favourites is where you get a colour in an animal and see it come to life before your eyes on one of the giant screens, in the “Live Sketchbook: Night Safari”.
I added a fox into the safari and they made fast friends with the other animals. There was some childlike wonder with this one – I really got lost in the experience I must admit.
One of the last features of the exhibition space is a room where you get to enjoy a cup of cold milk tea. There’s a couple of options to choose from, and it’s an optional extra for the experience. While you’re drinking it, a moon emerges, surrounded by flowers – even more impressive is that they all disappear once you finish the cup! An impressive experience for so many reasons – not to mention the tea was delicious.
ARTE MUSEUM may be the best immersive, projection/video-based art experience that I’ve ever seen. The art itself is often spellbinding, and the way they serve to titillate all your senses – sight, sound, smell, touch and even taste – as they explore “eternal nature” is wildly impressive.
FOUR AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
ARTE MUSEUM LAS VEGAS is located at 3714 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas NV 89158. Tickets range from $35-65 USD depending on the day of the week you visit, your age, and whether or not you want to include the tea. For tickets and more details, head HERE.
For details on other ARTE MUSEUM locations in Korea, U.A.E. and China, head to their official website.
Photos by the author unless otherwise listed. The author visited as a guest of ARTE MUSEUM with support from Visit Las Vegas. All prices correct at the time of printing.
While in Las Vegas, we stayed at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas. Read our full review HERE.
