Photo Flash: First Look at IMMERSIVE VAN GOGH at Pier 36

Immersive Van Gogh, the original experiential celebration of the work of beloved post-Impressionist Vincent van Gogh, is now open at Pier 36 (299 South St.) a 70,000-square-foot facility located on Manhattan's Lower East Side with views of the East River, the Brooklyn skyline and the Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges.

Check out photos below!

Immersive Van Gogh invites audiences to "step inside" the iconic works of Van Gogh, evoking his highly emotional and chaotic inner consciousness through art, light, music, movement and imagination. The gallery space offers patrons more than 500,000 cubic feet of animated projections. Immersive Van Gogh was designed by Creator Massimiliano Siccardi, with original, mood-setting music, both original and curated, by Italian multimedia Composer Luca Longobardi, who provided a score that combines experimental electronic music with pure, ethereal and melodic orchestral pieces. Vittorio Guidotti is the Art Director. Renowned Creative Director David Korins (Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen) has created a custom design to fit the architecture of the exhibition's New York home, adding new elements for the New York debut.

These include:

• The Sunflower Wall, which offers a closer look at one of Van Gogh's most famous subjects and looks to create a feeling of outside, inside. Viewers will get the chance to interact with a textured wall of bright colors and fun, meant to evoke the familiar feeling that one is standing in a field of sunflowers.

• The Ceiling, which is inspired by Van Gogh's masterpiece The Starry Night, was created using over 7,800 individually hung paintbrushes dipped in multiple colors.

• An oversized reproduction of a self-portrait of Van Gogh, which allows people to not only appreciate the intimacy and nuances of the work (and get a chance to look deeper into his eyes and heart), but to also give a greater understanding of his exquisite individual brushstrokes and muscularly specific way of painting.

• The Chromesthesia Experience, which invites audiences to walk through 10 booths based on the colors most often used in his paintings. While inside the booths, the audience will be immersed in a light and sound experience based on documented research of watching people with chromesthesia react to certain colors. It is generally accepted that Vincent van Gogh had a special form of synesthesia called chromesthesia in which he was able to hear color and see sound.

• Letters from Vincent is an activation based on an artificial intelligence program created from the digital scans of over 1,000 letters Vincent van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo. The booth allows guests to ask Vincent a question and have him respond with a one-of-a-kind customized letter directly addressed to the individual. This was developed in collaboration with Technology, Humans And Taste [THAT], a creative and innovation shop based in New York City, which designs concepts, campaigns and products.

• The Pocket Gallery, where paint leaves the canvas and immerses participants in Van Gogh's creative process through a surreal augmented reality experience.

• Within the exhibit, Korins will add tiered observation platforms, intricate mirrored sculptures and "secret" spaces for guests to discover as they observe the program. These elements were also developed in collaboration with THAT.

"I have taken the bones from Massimiliano's insightful and poetic piece and added new vantage points, intricate mirrored sculptures and secret spaces to create a truly unique experience for our guests. Embarking on this journey has been a thrilling and humbling experience of combining the work of two extraordinary artists and filtering it through my own artistic sensibility to deliver it to the New York audiences," said Korins.

The New York presentation of Immersive Van Gogh is the most impressive staging to date and the most expansive in the world, having already opened to tremendous acclaim in Toronto, Chicago and San Francisco, with additional openings scheduled for 16 cities across North America, including Los Angeles, Dallas, Denver, Las Vegas and more. Since its North American premiere in July 2020, more than 2.1 million tickets have been sold to Immersive Van Gogh, making it the most popular attraction currently in North America.

"Immersive Van Gogh has been hailed as an entirely new way of encountering art and has been enthusiastically embraced by press and patrons in every city in which it currently is being presented," said Producer Corey Ross. "Our New York exhibition will be by far our most ambitious. Not only do we have the talents of our ingenious Italian creative team, we also have David Korins bringing his distinct creative vision to the project to provide an unsurpassed guest experience."

"This will be an event that New Yorkers and visitors can enjoy safely, quite literally surrounding themselves with the work of Vincent van Gogh, one of the greatest artists who ever lived," added Producer Svetlana Dvoretsky.

"I am thrilled to collaborate with the creative minds behind the Immersive Van Gogh exhibit to create a truly unique experience for the city of New York to enjoy and be inspired by," said David Korins, Creative Director New York. "I have always been deeply moved when looking at

Van Gogh's paintings, which are universally beloved for their color and unique use of texture, or his transcendent ink drawings, and I'm humbled by the opportunity to develop an experience that will enhance the viewers' time spent with his powerful art."

"We have a track record of producing this event safely in numerous cities throughout North America," said Co-Producer Irina Shabshis. "We hope that this will lift the spirits of so many New Yorkers, who have not had the opportunity to experience cultural attractions for the past year, with first-rate production values that will make this one of the top events in the city this summer," added Co-Producer Maria Shclover.

"David Korins is very experienced and creative; he is giving his professional and artistic contributions to the implementation of the New York venue that will host my creation, Immersive Van Gogh", said Creator Massimiliano Siccardi. "I feel that his vision will be able to excellently enhance the audience experience, priming their minds as they enter and exit our exhibit, and also creating architectural enhancements that will provide unique vantage points from which they can observe my work."

"Most of all, I know that David shares a deep appreciation of and respect for the work of Vincent van Gogh, and that he, like me, wants to pay homage to the brilliance of his body of work, a legacy that influenced us all in our individual development as artists," Siccardi continued.

"Immersive van Gogh's premiere in New York, which very appropriately happens to be the biggest version of the exhibit ever created, comes at a very exciting time for our city, as we launch the most ambitious marking plan in our history to accelerate tourism recovery," said EVP of Global Communications for NYC & Company Christopher Heywood. "Immersive van Gogh is exactly the kind of demand generator we need, that will instill a sense of urgency and act like a catalyst to bring the masses back to New York City."

The hour-long walk-through installation has been designed with health and safety as a priority. Admissions will be limited according to New York City's capacity guidelines with touchless ticket-taking; temperature checks upon arrival; hand sanitizer stations and social distancing markers prominent throughout the venue; and digitally projected social distancing circles on the gallery floors to ensure appropriate spacing. All guests must wear a face covering at all times during their visit to Immersive Van Gogh.

With approximately 100 state-of-the-art projectors illuminating over the exhibit space, visitors to Immersive Van Gogh will be encircled from head-to-toe in Van Gogh's brushstrokes and colors, including animated details from works such as Self Portrait with Felt Hat (1887), The Bedroom in Arles (1888), Irises (1889) and The Starry Night (1889).

Tickets and Venue Information

Tickets for the exhibition are on-sale now at vangoghnyc.com and by phone at 844-307-4644. Tickets range in price from $29.99 for kids to $99.99 for VIP Flex tickets, which comes with priority access, flexible admission, a limited-edition poster, a souvenir laminate and a Van Gogh cushion. Basic timed tickets are $49.99.

As the Official Card Sponsor of the Immersive Van Gogh in New York, American Express® Card Members can purchase exclusive PRIME tickets by visiting vangoghnyc.com

The New York venue for Immersive Van Gogh is Pier 36 New York (299 South St.) The 70,000 square foot venue provides ample on-site parking for patrons and is easily accessible from the F Train (East Broadway station) or the M22 bus (Madison/Clinton stop). For more information about Immersive Van Gogh, visit vangoghnyc.com or call 844-307-4644. Follow the exhibition on social media at @goghnyc on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.