The High Museum of Art will present an exhibition of work by Japanese artist Ryoji Ikeda, including the U.S. debut of “data-verse,” a trilogy of monumental, immersive light and sound installations that represents more than two decades of research by the artist and reflects upon the progressive digitalization of an integrated global society.
On view from March 7 to August 10, the show will also premiere new site-specific work alongside existing works including “data gram,” a series of 18 monitors that take apart, analyze and recombine information Ikeda sourced for his trilogy.
The artist and his work
Ikeda (born in Gifu, Japan in 1966) is one of the world’s leading composers and media artists, whose work is described by Artnet as being “visceral, intellectual and awe-inspiring.”
His immersive video projections, which will be presented floor-to-ceiling onto the walls of the museum’s largest exhibition space, feature visualizations of data extracted from mathematical theories and the study of quantum physics.
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His more recent work, including “data-verse” (2019-2020, commissioned by Audemars Piguet Contemporary), incorporates open-source imagery from institutions such as NASA, CERN and the Human Genome Project.
Ikeda produced “data-verse” in three “chapters,” transforming open-sourced data sets through self-written programs to create visual output, which he then synchronized and composed in arrangement with an electronic score. Together, the music, video projections and the museum’s architecture will become a dynamically balanced, self-contained whole.
Ikeda’s work immerses the audience in a seemingly endless flow of data and explores the macroscopic depths of the universe and our relationship to it.
“This exhibition will be an experience unlike any we’ve offered before,” said the High’s Director Rand Suffolk. “The mesmerizing, almost hypnotic installations underscore the ever-changing, technologically manipulated nature of our world and how that can profoundly affect lives. We’re honored to be the first museum in the country to present Ikeda’s thought-provoking work.”
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“Ryoji Ikeda’s decades-long exploration of data, from sequences of alphanumeric symbols to collections of images of macro- and microcosms, is more relevant than ever, when data-driven decisions are precipitously changing the way people relate to the world,” said Michael Rooks, the High’s Wieland Family senior curator of modern and contemporary art.
“His work across sonic and visual platforms will invite our audiences to rethink conventional relationships between sound and image in our tech-saturated lives.”
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The details
“Ryoji Ikeda: data-verse” will be presented in the Cousins Family Special Exhibition Galleries on the second level of the High’s Wieland Pavilion.
The show opens March 7 and runs through August 10.
General admission tickets give you access to the exhibit as well as the museum’s permanent galleries and other special exhibitions. Tickets may be purchased online or at the museum.
Ryoji Ikeda is represented by Almine Rech.
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About the High Museum of Art
Located in the heart of Atlanta, the High Museum of Art connects with audiences from across the Southeast and around the world through its distinguished collection, dynamic schedule of special exhibitions and engaging community-focused programs.
Housed within facilities designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architects Richard Meier and Renzo Piano, the High features a collection of more than 20,000 works of art, including an extensive anthology of 19th- and 20th-century American fine and decorative arts; major holdings of photography and folk and self-taught work, especially that of artists from the American South; burgeoning collections of modern and contemporary art, including paintings, sculpture, new media and design; a growing collection of African art, with work dating from prehistory through the present; and significant holdings of European paintings and works on paper.
The High is dedicated to reflecting the diversity of its communities and offering a variety of exhibitions and educational programs that engage visitors with the world of art, the lives of artists and the creative process.
For more information about the High, visit www.high.org.
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