Lisson Gallery Has Launched a New Augmented Reality Platform That Allows You to Test-Drive Art in Your Home Before You Buy It

To say that the race for virtual exhibition alternatives has
accelerated in recent weeks is an understatement at best.

Just a few days after mega-gallery Hauser & Wirth unveiled its
ambitious plans for a new virtual reality platform, both Lisson
Gallery and Massimo De Carlo announced plans to unveil their own
e-commerce virtual reality platforms.

Tomorrow marks the debut of what Massimo De Carlo, which
has branches in hard-hit Milan, as well as London and Hong
Kong, is calling  Virtual Space, or VSpace. The inaugural
show will feature works conceived especially for the virtual
platform by artists John Armleder and Rob Pruitt.

VSpace is “a complete immersive walkable experience” that
viewers can access either through the gallery’s website or via an Oculus headset, for
those who have one. The platform is “completely flexible and
adaptable to any exhibition scenario: it is the first space that
depends upon the works of art, and not vice versa,” the gallery
said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Lisson Gallery, which operates spaces in London, New
York, and Shanghai, developed its initiative with the software
company Augment, whose app is already used by major consumer brands
such as Unilever, Coca-Cola, and Logitech. “They had never worked
with an art platform, but it was something their
CEO, Dimitri Duffeleer, was keen to do,” says
Victoria Mitchell, a communications manager for the gallery. “We
broached the partnership and he was really passionate about it.
It’s a lucky find.”

“This is our first  partnership with
an arts organization,” Duffeleer said in a statement.
“We are particularly excited about this
creative collaboration with Lisson, as one of the most influential
and innovative international contemporary art galleries in the
world, it allows us to use this technology—a democratic,
self-service SAAS [software as a service] platform—to make art much
more accessible to a wider audience, available to anyone, anywhere
in the world.”

The platform, which has been in development for the past year
and a half, goes live on April 23. At that point, users will be
able to begin “placing” one of 100 available works into their own
personal environments. “You can scroll down
and select the artwork you want—say you chose a Carmen Herrera
sculpture—you can place it in your garden or courtyard,” Mitchell
says. “You basically pick it up and set it down. You’ll see
what is in front of you with your camera.”

“The ease and simplicity of positioning a
sculpture, installation, or painting in your own space, in
augmented reality, and virtually share a 3D scene to be viewed and
edited by others, is revolutionary for many – especially at a time
when people are endeavoring to reduce physical travel, costs and
logistical burdens,” added Duffeleer.

The art world hasn’t always been known for its tech savvy, but
innovations appear increasingly necessary to compete in a changing
market landscape going forward. And, in some cases, artists could
benefit from the technology too.

“With our new Virtual Space we feel we’re stepping
into a future where artists will have the chance to interact with
architecture with an extraordinary freedom,” gallerist Massimo
De Carlo said in a statement, “while collectors, critics, curators,
and the general public will have the opportunity to experience art
from home like never before.”

The post Lisson Gallery Has Launched a New Augmented Reality
Platform That Allows You to Test-Drive Art in Your Home Before You
Buy It appeared first on artnet News.