Claude Monet: The Immersive Experience is Now in DC
Step into the life and art of Claude Monet — or just take a moment of calm artistic self-care at the incredibly soothing Claude Monet: The Immersive Experience, now in DC!
This latest immersive art experience to hit the DC area explores Monet’s life and career and even goes behind the scenes on the evolution of his brushstrokes through some of the most iconic of his art and paintings, brought to you by the edutainment company Exhibition Hub that also created Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience as well as the potential upcoming experience for Austrian genius Gustav Klimt.
The massive space is divided into gallery-like portions, participatory drawing studios, and digital projections suitable for all ages. Placards also provide fascinating information on the artist’s life, work, and legacy.
There are several rooms to experience, and the entire visit will likely take around 2 hours.
The first immersive room encountered is a replication of Monet’s atelier, including little notes strewn about and plenty of his iconic works to remind of his oeuvre.
Then, guests pass into the “gardens” at Giverny — a replication just as ideal for photos now as the actual gardens were for Monet’s artistic inspiration. Take care to notice that even the koi are gently swimming!
Not surprisingly, it is the next room, the huge gallery projection room featuring massive 360-degree floor-to-ceiling digital projections of Monet’s art with movement through state-of-the-art video mapping technology, where most guests choose to spend the majority of their visit.
Not only does this two-story projection showcase iconic favorites like Monet’s Water Lilies, Gare Saint-Lazare, and Poppies, but also unique and lesser-known works — including caricatures of his classmates and teachers that he drew while in his days at an art school!
Through his choice of color and brush strokes, Monet’s paintings demonstrate the visual nuances of the changing light and landscape throughout the day and seasons, and the methods used in the projection reinforce this.
But here’s a tip: After the projection cycles through a time (or two!) consider staying and closing your eyes here for a bit; the peacefulness and calm stay with you and heighten your visual experience.
A separate gallery (and add-on fee) includes the 10-minute VR Experience where participants will explore Monet’s career through the spaces he inhabited. This is a truly incredible part of the experience, so while this adds to the ticket expense, don’t skip it if at all possible!
Claude Monet: The Immersive Experience, displays Monet in grand scale through a massive digital art exhibit at Edgewood/Rhode Island Center/Bryant Street. Paid parking is available, though the Rhode Island Ave Metro Stop is a quick and easy walk. Tickets, starting at $30.90 are available here. This immersive artistic experience is currently taking reservations through April.
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