Van Gogh experience opens in Regina

‘The Starry Night’ by Vincent Van Gogh is one of the most famous paintings in the world.

It’s the painting most of us have seen with the navy blue brush strokes swirling into white orbs of yellow circles with a village landscape in front a dark sky.

Normally, you would have to travel to the Museum of Modern Art in New York to see the iconic piece, but now you can step inside his paintings as they come to life at the Beyond Van Gogh immersive experience in Regina.

Natasha Lowenthal is the producer and media representative with Paquin Entertainment. She said van Gogh’s work went against the norms at the time.

“He takes the ordinary and makes it something that is worthy of fine art,” she said. “It was an elitist genre to have your portrait done and landscapes done … Whereas Van Gogh took his talent out of the studio and made it an accessible art form.”

The exhibit’s main room has 34 projectors that display nearly 300 art pieces on all the walls, floor and two monoliths. It takes up more than 30,000 square feet, making it the largest immersive experience in the country. The display is 35 minutes long and is timed to music and narration.

“We are literally standing right in the middle of this painting,” said Lowenthal. “It engulfs you.”

She said the best thing about the exhibit is how different people can experience it. There isn’t a right or wrong way, she explained. People can walk through with a group of friends, or come alone and sit with their thoughts. She said kids love it too.

“They grasp it at a totally different level. They create this connection to it that I think is quite profound,” said Lowenthal.

One of the displays depicts Van Gogh’s many self portraits, along with his famous portrait wearing a bandage after he cut off part of his ear.

The paintings slowly start to come alive as the faces blink and move their eyes.

“He was kind of the epitome of an influencer in his time period. Everybody knows that person that is ‘selifie-ing’ their injury. That’s pretty much what he did,” she said. “He’s capturing himself looking deep inside his own image to try and find himself in there.”

The first room is an introduction hall, featuring panels of biographical text and quotations from Van Gogh and his brother Theo. The rooms give some background on his artistic process and what inspired him.

“People often just think of him as the tortured artist, and they don’t really see that he really was a deeply spiritual person,” Lowenthal said.

She encouraged people to return to the introduction room after taking in the main room’s display.

People can enjoy the art exhibit until Aug. 16 at the Viterra International Trade Centre. Tickets are only available online at VanGoghRegina.com.