Lower Manhattan’s newly opened Hall des Lumières provides viewers with a dreamy and experiential glimpse into a holistic immersion between the audience and the art that they are consuming. Located in the historic former Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank, creator Gianfranco Iannuzzi’s Hall des Lumières opened in early September with their premiere exhibit Gustav Klimt: Gold in Motion. Approaching the former bank, the audience is instantly greeted and guided from a dark entryway into the exhibit by staff. Walking into the space is a surreal and grandiose experience; Klimt’s creations cover the entirety of the room, floor to ceiling initially enveloped in glistening shades of gold before vibrant reds and violets take the spotlight in a rotating display of the late artist's most celebrated pieces. As Klimt’s iconic works are projected upon the marble pillars and walls, a carefully curated soundtrack roars in the background to accompany each artistic transition seamlessly.
See also: Robert Pattinson Partners With Sotheby's On NYC Contemporary Curated Auction
Viewers that are familiar with acclaimed installations may recognize the Hall des Lumières as a duplicate of Paris’ bestselling ‘Atelier Des Lumières’ exhibit created by Culturespaces. In 2020, Culturespaces sought to expand its success with this exhibition globally by partnering with IMG, one of the leading management companies in entertainment. One year later in 2021, IMG and Culturespaces collaborated with architecture firm Woods Bagot and began restoring Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank into the space that it is now. Hall des Lumières expands upon the historical context not only of the artworks, but also of the space itself by presenting information about the building’s past alongside the visual arts, enlightening the viewer about the rich history of Beaux-Arts architecture in Manhattan.
Gustav Klimt’s celebrated paintings are not the only images projected throughout Hall des Lumières, however. The works of Friedensreich Hundertwasser, a fellow Austrian artist who was heavily inspired both by Klimt and the Austrian Secession are also featured in Hall des Lumières. The works of Klimt and Hundertwasser accompany one another harmoniously, both visually and thematically, and incorporating an artist that was so evidently influenced by Klimt’s career throughout the exhibit proves to the audience that the pieces in front of them are timeless and seminal. Audience members are free to roam around the vast, open space, inspired to connect deeply with the works in front of them in their massive scale.
Along with Hundertwasser’s exhibit is an additional audiovisual adventure titled 5 Movements created by the innovative Nohlab studio. This contemporary experience emulates the spirit of Klimt, focusing upon five different dancers, each crafting a piece that pertains to a specific movement in music. The dancers explore the connection between time, space, and our physical forms, inspiring introspection throughout the audience despite its brief ten-minute long runtime. Following 5 Movements is the final additional exhibit: a contemporary display titled Recoding Entropia. Recoding Entropia is yet another experience in contemporary immersion, taking the form of an abstract film that, similarly to 5 Movements, ruminates upon physicality and emptiness, sparking self-reflection and reflexivity amongst viewers.
Standing at 30 feet tall, each kaleidoscopic image projected in Hall des Lumières invokes feelings of wonder, the entire audience mesmerized throughout the entire exhibit’s ultimate hour-long run time. The Beaux-Arts style building, built over a century ago, combined with Klimt’s projected works from around the same time period spark feelings of historical nostalgia and sentimentality for a time which is no longer reminiscent of our own. Even viewers who are not familiar with Austrian art may recognize some of the projected works of Klimt, as his most celebrated works are featured, including The Kiss, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, and The Maiden. The additional exhibits surrounding Gold in Motion enhance and amplify the feelings of introspection and wonder that Klimt’s works inspire, while also commenting upon some of the darker themes in the work, like emptiness and existentialism. Stepping into Hall des Lumières feels like stepping into the past, fully enveloping ourselves in the history of the art and the space itself. The installation is so compelling because it challenges the binary of viewer-versus-artist; the viewer becomes synonymous with the art itself, standing awestruck in front of each moving image. The exhibit is simultaneously expansive and ornate, and the boundaries of immersion become blurred as the audience members become active participants in the spectacle.
Photography by: Mark Zhelezoglo
