Online and Virtual Art Exhibition

Above: My avatar checking out an exhibition at the Art Center in Second Life. Painting: Rhomus Riddle by Rostarr, 2004

I am starting to explore virtual art exhibition. If anyone has sites or virtual reality locations to recommend, please post a comment. So far, the results have been extremely varied, which leads me to believe that there is truly a gap waiting to be filled by smart and savvy artists and designers.

On the web, you have sites like the Lima Museum of Contemporary Art (LIMAC), a conceptual museum that has no offline counterpart. "It inhabits no physical space; it commissions no works; it does not host any real exhibits. The art, though, is real, taken from actual catalogs around the world to create an interesting visual visit." Cool Hunting describes the effort as "a conceptual art piece that playfully explores and deconstructs the institutions that house contemporary art in modern society, while at the same time questioning the line between fact and fiction in its actual institution, the internet. It's a thought-provoking experiment."

In virtual reality (VR) environments like Second Life, you have galleries like the Art Center and interactive exhibits like the Virtual Van Gogh exhibit (previously featured here). And visual performance artists are starting to experiment with VR installations. Through July 4th, artist Juria Yoshikawa explores light in immersive spaces at Second Life's White Cube Gallery—the photo above gives you a good idea of the virtual installation experience.

Despite the convenience of being able to explore international exhibits from home, I have yet to really be as satisfied with a virtual or online exhibition as I am with real world shows, but my hopes are high. There is an exciting frontier here. We'll see what the future brings.