Long-Sharp Gallery | Virtual
Spell It Out
Driven to Abstraction
About the Virtual Exhibit
Long-Sharp Gallery’s virtual two-wing, 6000-square-foot space was designed and built by London-based Emperia Ltd.
Spell It Out: Language-based conceptual artwork is the subject of the newest exhibit in Long-Sharp Gallery’s virtual exhibition space. Spell It Out features works by seven artists working with text, including Kay Rosen, Edward Ruscha, Mel Bochner, Ann Hamilton, Robert Indiana, Christopher Wool, and Miriam Londoño. Long-Sharp Gallery presents Rosen’s work in association with her representative, Krakow Witkin Gallery (Boston). Spell it Out opens in Long-Sharp Gallery | Virtual on February 25, 2021, and includes a visual and audio tour.
Driven to Abstraction: Opening concurrently in Long-Sharp Gallery’s virtual exhibition space on February 25th. The exhibition includes works by some of the most notable names in contemporary abstraction including Sam Francis, Helen Frankenthaler, and Sam Gilliam. Established abstract artists such as New York’s Sabina Klein and Indiana’s Tamar Kander, along with emerging artists Samuel E. Vázquez, Amy Kirchner, Destiny Palmer, and Kamiesha Garbadawala are also featured. From action painters to contemporary expressionists, the exhibit celebrates the continued driving force of this once-radical art and controversial movement. The virtual exhibit has an audio component that includes commentary by many of the established and emerging artists.
The Virtual Space: Gallery owner Rhonda Long-Sharp says establishing a virtual platform and a stronger online presence has been in the works for several years. “Our virtual exhibits started in 2018 using the services of New Zealand company Exhibbit. Their platform allows artwork to be uploaded into four stock virtual galleries. We saw Emperia’s custom capabilities in the summer of 2019 and committed instantly.”
Emperia founder Olga Dogadkina describes their process this way:
We create gallery spaces and shows in virtual reality. Every show is created digitally using 3D technologies. The reason building the space digitally benefits the work is that every painting is recreated in 3D, put in manually and the lighting is custom-built for each work. It allows you to preserve all the details and maintain the highest resolution for each artwork, which is not possible with a 360-degree photograph. Taking it one step further, each painting is interactive so you can click on the painting and find whatever information is chosen; the zoom capability is 500%, such that you can see every single detail.
Long-Sharp was impressed with the ease with which one could move through the spaces created by Emperia. According to Dogadkina: We wanted to create something that anyone could easily use without the need for any technical knowledge or special equipment. When we developed the movement through the space, we wanted to make it as effortless as possible on any device.
Both exhibits are enhanced by an audio components.