For DYOR the physical exhibition space has gained a digital extension. This is an illustration of the Kunsthalle Zürich’s third floor gallery as well as the roof of the Löwenbräukunst building; it can be explored using a VR (virtual reality) headset.
The sudden development of the NFT market is closely linked to the Covid crisis, which gave digital exhibition formats and marketplaces preeminence in times of physical isolation. Over the past two years it has become very clear that while physical works can be presented digitally, digital spaces, whether two or three-dimensional, or not their natural habitat. As a rule key characteristics, such as texture or materiality, are lost in translation. The situation is quite different for native digital works. These were developed employing hardware and software and visualized on a monitor already throughout the creation process, so are here in their native environment.
Nevertheless the presentation of digital work, in particular sculptural works, in physical space brings about significant challenges. On a digital display they remain flat, while often they cannot be brought into the physical space without many of their characteristics being lost, such as movement or overcoming gravity. In this respect spatial technologies such as virtual reality offer advantages by making it possible to experience digital spaces in an immersive manner. Virtual reality architecture seems to be the logical environment for digital art, particularly three-dimensional art.
In this context the physical DYOR exhibition space has been complemented with a digital space. Created by Manual Rossner, the space shows natively digital and largely sculptural works by nine artists and duos: Banz & Bowinkel, Jan Robert Leegte, Kim Asendorf, Lorna Mills, Manuel Rossner, Maxim Zhestkov, Moxarra Gonzales, Nancy Baker Cahill und Rafaël Rozendaal.
Text: Kunsthalle Zürich
Image Top: Jan Robert Leegte, Scrollbar Composition, 2022 and Moxarra Gonzalez, GM RIGHT CLICKERS!, 2021
Image Right: Kim Asendorf, monogrid 4b, 2021
