PACE Gallery: Art + Technology

A couple of weeks ago, I went to the most amazing gallery. Pace gallery is a contemporary art gallery and they have exhibits spanning across the world. Each one has a different theme, and the theme of the Menlo Park exhibit that I went to was “Art + Technology.” It’s definitely not your typical art gallery. It was super high tech, the displays were all gorgeous, and you can’t help but wonder about the intricate algorithms that are behind all of these different pieces. So I’m taking you with me today on a virtual tour!

That’s the outside of the gallery. You can probably already tell that it’s not going to be a typical art museum. Tickets are $20 per person (adult price), but if you’re a student you can show your ID for a $5 discount. The first room that you walk into from the lobby area features this strange, suspended cube. The cube has red lights running through the metal rods, and the pattern they make is dependent on the motion it detects around it. Pretty cool!

The next room we walked into featured several digital “paintings.” Each one also has a motion sensor. When you stand in front of a panel, it can somehow detect that, and in the first picture below, the flowers and petals in the digital painting all start migrating over to right in front of where you’re standing. I could stare at these paintings for hours!

The next room was one of my favorites. It was basically a light show! A super high tech light show. There were several vertical screens placed throughout the room, and the animation/movie that was being played spanned across all screens. With the music and everything, it was such a cool experience. You became a part of the movie.

The room after that was a beautiful light exhibit. Curtains and curtains of lights and mirrors. If you peered through the individual light strands, it felt like you could see on forever. You can also download a special app that will allow you the change the colors of the lights from your phone.

And last but not least, the flower room!! This room also had that immersive theme, where the goal is to have you become a part of the experience within the room. The animations of the flowers projected on the wall screens change in real-time, and if you stay in the room for a full hour, you’ll be able to witness all four seasons–the flowers blooming, blossoming, wilting, and back to blooming. It’s pretty cool! I didn’t stay the whole time, but it would have been the perfect place to sit with friends for a while and just relax/chat.

And that’s it!! There was also a kid’s exhibit in the adjacent building, but I didn’t grab that many pictures there. I was too busy playing with the interactive toys.

The interactive hopscotch was pretty cool. In the picture above, when you move the plates around, after you set it down, food appears on the plate. I don’t know how they do that, but it’s so cool! For those of you who are in the area, I highly recommend checking this gallery out. It’s open until mid-July (I think), so there’s still time! It’s definitely not your typical art museum, and I think everyone will enjoy it!

XOXO,