Enter the vibrant, colorful world of the symbolist painter with massive projections of his most famous works
Ah, The Kiss. Composed of a man and woman locked in an eternal embrace upon a bed of flowers, it’s one of the most iconic art nouveau paintings and arguably one of the most romantic pieces of art ever created. Painted by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt at the height of his Golden Period, it contains many of the artist’s signatures: heavy symbolism, erotic undertones, and decorative embellishments of gold leaf, platinum, and silver. His legacy has endured through the years and even wiggled its way into modern pop culture—you may remember back in 2016 when Oprah Winfrey sold Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer II (1912) for an earth-shattering $150 million.
Now Klimt fans can experience The Kiss (1907) and other works like Judith and the Head of Holofernes (1901) at three different immersive digital art experiences opening in 13 cities across North America in 2022. Find out more about when and where each show is happening and how to get tickets before they sell out:
1. Klimt: The Immersive Experience
Created by the same partnership between Exhibition Hub and Fever that brought Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience to life, comes Klimt: The Immersive Experience. The show will display more than 200 works by the artist in a mind-boggling floor-to-ceiling, 360-degree format. In addition to the main exhibit, there will also be a 10-minute virtual reality experience that chronicles the breadth of Klimt’s career, from his humble beginnings as an interior decorator to all the dazzling glory of his Golden Period. Klimt: The Immersive Experience made its debut in Miami last December, but there are plenty of other cities on the docket to catch the show. Las Vegas’s Area 15 also hosted a show that ran from October 21 until the end of February.
Los Angeles
When: January 13–February 17, 2022
Where: 1345 N. Montebello Blvd., Montebello, California
Buy tickets: Prices start at $36 for adults, feverup.com
Las Vegas
When: January 2022–February 28, 2022
Where: Area 15
Buy tickets: Prices start at $35, area15.com/events
London
When: July 21–September 30, 2022
Where: To be announced
Buy tickets: Prices start at $27, feverup.com
Atlanta
When: To be announced
Where: To be announced
Join the waitlist for tickets: feverup.com
Boston
When: To be announced
Where: To be announced
Join the waitlist for tickets: feverup.com
Chicago
When: To be announced
Where: To be announced
Join the waitlist for tickets: feverup.com
Dallas
When: To be announced
Where: To be announced
Join the waitlist for tickets: feverup.com
Houston
When: To be announced
Where: To be announced
Join the waitlist for tickets: feverup.com
New York City
When: To be announced
Where: To be announced
Join the waitlist for tickets: feverup.com
Philadelphia
When: To be announced
Where: To be announced
Join the waitlist for tickets: feverup.com
Seattle
When: To be announced
Where: To be announced
Join the waitlist for tickets: feverup.com
Washington, D.C.
When: To be announced
Where: To be announced
Join the waitlist for tickets: feverup.com
2. Immersive Klimt
Currently only on display in the former building that housed the Toronto Star’s printing plant, Immersive Klimt takes guests on a journey through the artist’s life, beginning with his early pencil sketches to some of his most iconic works from his Golden Period like The Tree of Life (1905). Designed by the same Italian multimedia artist, Massimiliano Siccardi, who created Immersive Van Gogh, Immersive Klimt features 500,000 cubic feet of room-scale projections. In addition to the larger-than-life projections, the exhibit also offers a soundtrack created by Luca Longobardi and 60,600 frames of animated artwork. The show initially debuted last October, but it is still on display—catch it before it ends on March 20.
Toronto
When: October 21, 2021–March 20, 2022 (extended)
Where: 1 Yonge St.
Buy tickets: Prices start at $35, immersiveklimt.com/buy-tickets
Where to stay
3. Gustav Klimt: Gold in Motion
Opening this summer, Gustav Klimt: Gold in Motion will debut as the inaugural exhibition of the Hall des Lumières. Situated in Manhattan’s revamped Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank, the venue will be the first permanent immersive art center in the United States. Jointly created by Culturespaces, a French company that manages museums and heritage sites, and media production company IMG, Gustav Klimt will take visitors on a “golden, sensuous” journey through the painter’s revolutionary art. Gianfranco Iannuzzi, the same digital artist behind the immersive Van Gogh, La Nuit Étoilée at Atelier des Lumières, helmed the project.
Built in 1912, the former bank has been meticulously restored and offers 30-foot-high ceilings and soaring walls upon which larger-than-life projections of Klimt’s paintings will be displayed. An original soundtrack will accompany the exhibit. A complementary digital experience about Austrian environmental artist and architect Friedensreich Hundertwasse, whose midcentury work was inspired by Klimt, will accompany the main show.
New York City
When: Summer 2022
Where: 49 Chambers St.
Join the waitlist for tickets: halldeslumieres.com
