Immersive art experience Magentaverse casts new light on Pantone's Color of the Year

A multi-sensory experience, Magentaverse draws inspiration and materials from nature, NASA, and the James Webb Space Telescope footage, immersing visitors into what the organisers call the "sounds and feelings of Viva Magenta". It's the work of Artechouse, an art incubator on a mission to drive innovative, technology-driven experiential art in collaboration with Pantone.

The exhibit, which premiered in Miami during last month's Art Basel during the launch of Pantone's Color of the Year 2023, centres on a 22-minute cinematic audiovisual exploration of the character and depth of Viva Magenta within an immersive gallery.

The experience is powered by a unique blend of bespoke technologies, including an 18-channel floor-to-wall panoramic (270°) projection and a 30.1-channel spatialised audio system allowing for total metaverse-like immersion.

Sampling from disparate sources, both technical and natural, the experience crafts together new expressions through the tension and revelation of opposites spread across multiple distinct chapters. It all takes place at Artechouse NYC at 439 W 15th Street in New York City.

Located in a 100-year-old boiler room beneath the iconic Chelsea Market, Artechouse NYC utilises the largest seamless megapixel count projections of any cultural institution. Integrating Hyperreal Sound technology, it offers visitors and artists alike a unique, technologically advanced art platform.

"As Pantone's Color of the Year is a harbinger for trends across the global art, fashion, and design communities, it was only fitting that Magentaverse's next home be here in New York City, itself an international trendsetter," says Sandro Kereselidze, Artechouse's co-founder and chief creative officer.

"Through the intersection of art, science, and cutting-edge technology, we wanted to offer visitors a multi-sensory experience that embodies and celebrates the striking and expressive nature of Viva Magenta."

Sara Walker, senior director of marketing at Pantone, adds: "To embody the spirit of Viva Magenta, we embarked on a new approach of collective creative collaboration with our partners, technology, and Pantone's expertise in colour theory to curate a new interpretation of the Pantone Color of the Year.

"This led to the creation of the Magentaverse, an unexpected and exciting colour universe we look forward to sharing that combines the influences of art, design, science, and technology."

It marks the fourth consecutive year of Artechouse's collaboration with Pantone to bring the Color of the Year to life through innovative technologies. In 2021, they presented an art experience revolving around the Pantone Color of the Year 2022, using the shade PANTONE 17-3938 Very Peri, a periwinkle-blue hue with a violet-red undertone.

That project came hot on the heels of experiences dedicated to Pantone's Colors of the Year for 2021, 17-5104 Ultimate Gray and 13-0647 Illuminating, and 2020's 19-4052 Classic Blue.

Magentaverse continues Monday to Sunday, 10am to 10pm, until 31 April 2023. Sessions are every 30 minutes and last for 60 minutes; the last session begins at 9pm. Tickets are available here.