Xintiandi’s Taiping Lake is the unlikely home for an early contender of the art hit of the summer. Van Gogh Alive is a paradox – an exhibition that contains none of the Dutch master’s original work, yet celebrates all of it. In a 35-minute looping presentation, over 3,000 images flash onto multiple screens as high as seven-feet tall throughout the walls and floors of the space.
The show runs until August 30 and, prior to its opening, over 120,000 pre-sale tickets were already snatched up. The show is notable for its modern flourishes such as animating the crows in ‘Wheatfield with Crows.’ Adding to the exhibition’s big budget feel is its prominent Cadillac sponsorship and exhibition-related merchandise ranging from ‘Starry Night’-emblazoned shoes and ukuleles to one-eared Van Gogh teddy bears.
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Since debuting in Singapore four years ago, Van Gogh Alive has become a global hit. Inspired by the success of last year’s Monet exhibition at K11, which drew in more than 300,000 visitors, Shanghai GT Artplay decided to bring the exhibit to the city for its Mainland debut with plans to take it to 10 Mainland cities within the next two years.
“We were interested by this kind of new media exhibition and were impressed with how immersive it was and the technology involved,” explains general manager Julia Chow.
The show is among the jewels in Melbourne-based Grande Exhibitions’ portfolio, whose exhibitions like Da Vinci: The Genius and 101 Inventions that Changed the World have traveled to more than 90 cities across six continents, drawing in more than 6.5 million people.
Van Gogh Alive is their first show to incorporate the Sensory 4 system, which combines multi-channel motion graphics, cinema-quality surround sound and several high definition projectors.
“We wanted to present the life of Van Gogh as an artist through picture, light and sound,” explains Grande Exhibitions Chief Operating Officer Tim Atkins. “It’s a synchronized production and we actually built a story for each screen. We’ve scaled down some of the artwork or cropped it to highlight the key elements of each piece. Viewers surround themselves in Van Gogh’s artwork.”
The show takes a chronological approach to Van Gogh’s decade as an active artist. It moves from his somber and earth-toned portraitures of peasants like ‘The Potato Eaters,’ through his two-year stay in Arles where the local landscape and light inspired masterpieces like ‘Café Terrace at Night,’ to his final years in Saint-Remy where the swirling flourishes of ‘The Starry Night’ reflected the inner turmoil that preceded his 1890 suicide.
One screen is devoted solely to Van Gogh quotes while a classical score adds to the ambiance, reflecting the music of his era. Interesting facts are interspersed throughout the show. Did you know that the post-impressionist innovator sold just one painting during his lifetime, for 400 francs or RMB422? Compare that to the USD61.8 million that Huayi Brothers co-founder and movie mogul Wang Zhongjun dropped last year to purchase ‘Still Life, Vase with Daisies and Poppies.’
“Van Gogh’s art is still relevant today, over 100 years after his death,” Atkins notes. “For an artist who was so ahead of his time, the technology is finally catching up.”
The prominent use of the Sensory 4 hasn’t been without its critics. The absence of original work has some complaining about the show’s hefty RMB100-160 entry fee. While she checks visitor’s comments on social media daily, Chow is undeterred by the issue.
“To be honest, the public reaction has been better than I thought it would be,” she says, noting that acclaimed artists Chen Danqing and Chen Yiming have praised the show.
“We expected critics because it breaks from traditions, but innovations take a while to be accepted. More multimedia exhibitions will come to China in the future.”
It’s a viewpoint that Atkins shares, noting the show is designed to complement the traditional gallery experience.
“What we are doing is providing greater insight into Van Gogh’s life as an artist. You can go to a gallery to see a couple of his paintings and you have this opportunity to see all of his artwork in one place at one time in a different format,” he says, noting that children are enamored by the show and often dance on the works projected from the floor screens.
“We’re opening the world of art and Van Gogh to people who might not necessarily go to an art gallery.”
// Until Aug 30, RMB100-160 (RMB88 after 5pm). Taiping Lake, tickets.
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