Jeremy Rotsztain
Ascension (@Upfor), 2015
VR experience for Oculus Rift
Ascension (@Upfor) is a site-specific installation set within Upfor Gallery. Shown as part of the exhibition Electric Fields, visitors donned an Oculus Rift virtual reality headset and were transported into a simulation of Upfor.
Bathed in an oscillating synthetic light, the gallery is filled with gestural forms flowing upwards from the ground. Part white cube, part Roman Oculus (an "eye" in a building), it also contains a giant opening into the sky instead of a ceiling. As viewers glance upwards, following the direction of the curvy, elongated gestures, they slowly ascend into a void above the gallery where they are surrounded by a fervent field of shooting forms.
Ascension extended the experience of the algorithmic artworks on display in the physical gallery into a painterly virtual world. Before donning the goggles, gallery visitors looked from a distance at works presented as framed prints and animations on screens. With the Oculus Rift headset on, they were enveloped by the same gestural forms depicted in the other works.
Image Credit gallery setup: (c) by Evan La Londe, courtesy of Upfor Gallery
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ABOUT THE ARTIST
Jeremy Rotsztain (b. 1977 in Toronto, Canada) is an artist and software programmer working with computer graphics to explore new modes of abstraction—across video installations, virtual reality worlds, mobile phone applications, and digital prints. Jeremy holds a Master's degree from the Interactive Telecommunications Program at New York University. His work has been exhibited throughout the United States and internationally, including the Cooper-Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, New York Hall of Science, Grimmuseum, Festival Nouveau Cinéma de Montréal, and New Forms Festival. Jeremy lives and works in Portland, Oregon.
If you are interested in exhibiting or viewing this artistic VR experience, please send an email to us.
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