Phi Immersive: Theatre of Virtuality

Presented in parallel with the Venice Biennale, Phi's continuous programming will feature new immersive works by Anish Kapoor, Olafur Eliasson, Marina Abramović, among others.

Phi announces the second phase of its remarkable programming that started during the Venice Biennale, with several headliners, as well as Montreal artists expected at Ca' Rezzonico. 

The motto? Dare to disturb.
With its Phi Immersive: Theatre of Virtuality program presented in two galleries, Phi is announcing loud and clear its presence on the sidelines on the Venice Biennale and continues to position itself as a pioneer in the way new art forms are consumed. The initial program was presented during the 58th Venice Biennale and hosted Renata Morales’ first solo exhibition outside Mexico - an installation that was the culmination of a two-year residency program at Phi. 

For the second phase, Phi is once again collaborating with Acute Art, a platform for the production and distribution of interactive virtual reality works in order to offer to artists and audiences, a playground where they can explore and interact, fostering dialogue and critical thinking through both artistic and technological experiences. The works on display in the first gallery will disturb the baroque environment of the Ca’ Rezzonico on the shores of the Grand Canal. 

Gallery 1: A Presentation of Phi and Acute Art

Into Yourself, Fall by Anish Kapoor 
The first encounter with virtual reality for the artist Anish Kapoor, who offers us a visceral work where the spectators see themselves drawn through the human body, to the point of falling inside themselves. This experience of corporeality imitates the sensations of vertigo and depicts the complexities in everyone’s heart. 

Rainbow by Olafur Eliasson 
Olafur Eliasson’s long-standing interest in the relationship between self vs. others and self vs. the environment profoundly influences Rainbow—an ephemeral natural phenomenon generated by a digital process. A major innovation, the multi-user function opens the way to new spaces for and towards virtual reality in art. 

Rising by Marina Abramović
Marina Abramović's first virtual reality work which was presented during the initial program, is being prolonged. A poetic and disturbing call to action, Rising exposes spectators to the effects of rising sea levels in order to make them more responsible in the face of climate change. 

Gallery 2: A Presentation of Phi 

Gymnasia by Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski 
A dream that is at once gloomy, disturbing and strangely beautiful. This cinematographic experience in VR succeeds in evoking the indefinable anxiety that one feels when the boundary between real and unreal blurs in an inconceivable way. Gymnasia marks the first collaboration between the National Film Board of Canada, Felix & Paul Studios and Clyde Henry Productions.

Gloomy Eyes by Jorge Tereso and Fernando Maldonado
When the sun got tired of humanity, he decided to hide and never get up again. The darkness has awakened the dead. A young zombie named Gloomy and his living friend Nena fall in love to the point of creating a deep and indestructible connection.

Speculating Futures by Fvckrender, Miri Chekhanovich, Maryse Goudreau, Caroline Monnet and George Fok 
In this three-channel installation based on the geopolitical climate and current environmental issues, five artists project themselves 20 years into the future to present their vision of what the future holds for us. With this original 34-minute work produced by Phi, the creators wish to inspire a desire for renewal and collective action through art.

Acute Art 
Under the direction of Daniel Birnbaum, Acute Art collaborates with the most fascinating current artists in a desire to combine technology and artistic vision. Currently focusing on virtual reality and augmented reality, Acute Art produces original digital works and makes them accessible to all through its free application and artistic collaborations. The organization is also a digital art laboratory that explores new techniques for creating experimental works and finds original ways to disseminate them and share the experience.

Since 2017, the organization has collaborated with Marina Abramović, Olafur Eliasson, Jeff Koons, Anish Kapoor, Nathalie Diurberg and Hans Berg, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, as well as other talented and award-winning artists.

Phi 
Phi is a leading arts and culture organization that offers a panoramic perspective of radical ideas. Positioned at the intersection of art and technology, Phi develops and presents an adventurous programming focused on collective experiences, social impact, and audience interactivity. In the realm of contemporary media, Phi creates installations that travel the world, envisioning future generations and storytelling possibilities.

Phi consists of the Phi Centre, an innovative hub at the service of progressive ideas dedicated to high-tech and interdisciplinary creativity, with a focus on virtual reality and new media; Phi Studio, a visionary production studio, and Fondation Phi pour l’art contemporain, an iconoclastic exhibition venue where the work is treated with the utmost respect and redefines the standard for independent exhibition space.

Opening hours
The exhibition is open every day except Tuesday
From 10am to 7pm
Free admission