Fireworks, fireplaces, city lights… Who wouldn’t be drawn to the light and its dancing!
This in mind, Culturespaces combined the magic of light with art. With the “Atelier des Lumières” they established in Paris in 2018, they have created a digital event space that organizes immersive exhibitions dedicated to some of the most famous figures in art history. Since 2019, they have been continuing the same fiction in the historical gas factory in Amsterdam.
The Amsterdam Gas Factory was built by the Royal Gas Association in 1885, and this 2800m2 building was one of the gas factories that were shut down one by one in 1967, after the Netherlands found large gas reserves. It was transformed into a cultural event space in 1981 and the “Fabrique des Lumières” was established in 2019
If we want to summarize the Fabrique des Lumières experience in a single sentence, we can say that “it takes art lovers to a fascinating fairy tale world with a unique technology that uses nearly a hundred video projectors and sound space”.
Even before visiting the exhibition, one can guess that the rain of Klimt’s famous gold leaves from the sky will be breathtaking. But honestly, it is unexpected that Hundertwasser’s drops and his train circulating in the 2800m2 area and its bubbles or accelerating drops in the sea surround you so much and turn your head beyond Klimt.
The space takes you on a trip in three dimensions, not only with the giant projections it projects on the wall, but also with its two rooms designed as experience rooms. You can experience a painting in all its dimensions in a room covered with a mirror from the ceiling to the floor, or you can direct the formation of a painting with the details of it opening as you step in the interactive room.
The tingly, knee-shaking, tickling sight of seeing Klimt’s famous Judith looking directly into your eyes from a giant wall, the Kiss carries the richness of springtime in the middle of Amsterdam’s winter, from two-dimensional paintings, engulfs, embraces, and exhilarates you.
The work of Hundertwasser, who was animated by the striking harmony of the music, is completely different. However, it can be said that “it can only be experienced to feel what it brings”. You can’t stop your heart from beating as if you want to get out of its cage with the drops acceleratingly falling on you from a height of 17m2. If you want to get some inspiration and get a lot of excitement, you can watch the teaser film of the exhibition here.
The program for 2023 is already announced. Gaudi and Salvador Dali will be the new exhibits of the museum. Not one but two opportunities to consider to put the Netherlands on your visiting list!
