WALKTHROUGHS - Can Büyükberber, Martina Menegon, Pastor/Placzek

About

OPENING EVENT: April 20th, noon EDT / 18:00 CEST
RUNTIME: April 20th - May 8th, noon EDT / 18:00 CEST
LIVE STREAM ON FACEBOOK: synthesis gallery

Walkthroughs is our response to the current challenging times. With museums implementing large layoffs, galleries cancelling shows and foreseeing closure, art fairs being postponed, we have been reflecting on the best response to the current situation. Now more than ever, we think it is important to stay connected, creative and get inspired. Walkthroughs of VR artistic experiences is what we have envisioned. VR art live streamed through the artist's eyes. A weekly meetup happening safely online with curators joining the conversation and creatives that, in turn, put the headset on, share their screen and walk us through the VR work.

The walkthroughs focus on providing an overview of the artist’s creative process and insights into the work as heard from the artists themselves, as they walk us through it. The virtual rendezvous will talk of perception of self and the creation of identity in the digital world (Martina Menegon in conversation with peer to space’s Director Tina Sauerlaender), nature and the environment (Pastor/Placzek joined by independent curator Juliette Bibasse), the construction of virtual worlds and the interaction with physical ones (Can Büyükberber in conversation with Forbes’ contributor Jesse Damiani).

PROGRAM

April 20th, noon EDT / 18:00 CEST
Martina Menegon with Tina Sauerländer (Curator - peer to space)

Menegon’s practice with mixed realities focuses primarily on the perception of self and the body when both are transferred and translated in the digital. In ‘plug your nose and try to hum’ the body is at the mercy of the viewer and given new meanings as it is objectified, stretched out and tossed around. Menegon excels in blurring virtual and real boundaries: the virtual bodies in her work take on surrealistic, yet metaphysical traits, while retaining realness and intelligibility. They can be perceived; they can be felt. In the work-in-progress ‘when you are close to me I shiver’, Menegon explores dystopian futures envisioned after a socio-ecological crisis. The - very human - feelings of helplessness and despair are condensed in the strikingly raw and evocative visuals.

MARTINA MENEGON (b. 1988, IT, http://www.martinamenegon.com/) is an artist working with Interactive and Mixed Reality Art to create intimate and complex assemblages of physical and virtual elements that explore the contemporary self and its synthetic corporeality. She teaches at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna and regularly collaborates with Klaus Obermaier and Stefano D’Alessio, teaching multimedia tools for interactive arts at the IUAV University in Venice. Since 2019 she has directed :afk, curating Mixed Reality Art exhibitions in Vienna.

April 29th, noon EDT / 18:00 CEST
Pastor/Placzek with Juliette Bibasse (Curator - http://julietteb.com/)

In ‘I Never Promised You A Garden’ by Pastor/Placzek the viewer faces a dilemma: he can either interact with the luxurious hanging garden around him, making it grow and bloom or being inactive and letting it fade and die. As space and time get distorted indefinitely, the viewer becomes the interface of a unique narrative sequence created by his movements. ‘I Never Promised You A Garden’ questions gameplay dynamics while epitomizing awareness and responsibility towards nature. Vividly colorful, delightfully organic, the dream-like garden by Pastor/Placzek stimulates reflection and inebriates senses.

PASTOR/PLACZEK (Mélanie Courtinat/Quentin Dubret, b. 1993, FR, https://pastorplaczek.com/) incorporates multiple media through their work, questioning the relationship to new digital frontiers through mixed realities and moving image. Their work has been exhibited nationally and internationally in Paris, Tokyo, Brussels and Lausanne.

May 8th, noon EDT / 18:00 CEST
Can Buyukberber with Jesse Damiani (Forbes, NXT Museum)

Mediated Virtuality is an interactive mixed new media and site-specific installation that explores the spectrum of reality-virtuality, ranging between completely "virtual" and completely "real" reality. Consisting of multiple digitally fabricated sculptural objects as part of a spatial installation, and interactive elements that activate the projections and the experience in the VR headset, Mediated Virtuality brings together the use of innovative techniques such as virtuality reality, hand tracking, projection mapping and 3d printing in a unique way, speculating on a near future that blurs the lines between physical and conceptual.

CAN BÜYÜKBERBER (b. 1987, TU, https://canbuyukberber.com/) creates immersive audiovisual experiences embodied in physical and digital spaces. His practice consists of experiments with various media such as VR/AR, projection mapping, geodesic domes, large-scale displays and digital fabrication. Driven by an interdisciplinary thinking and curiosity that extends to art, design and science, Büyükberber’s work often focuses on human perception, exploring new methods for non-linear narratives and geometrical order. He lives and works in San Francisco, USA.

synthesis gallery (http://synthesis.gallery/), the first VR art gallery, is an immersive blend of technology and art displayed under one roof, showcasing cutting-edge experiences by new wave artists and visionaries through virtual reality. Founded in New York in October 2017 by George Vitale, the gallery opened his doors to the public in April 2018 in Berlin. Pieces are displayed through different media. Tangible and traditional art forms intermingle with Oculus and Vive headsets. Dedicated to exhibiting internationally renowned, well-established artists alongside emerging ones, since its inception, synthesis has garnered considerable attention in the art scene.