ARTECHOUSE NYC

ARTECHOUSE NYC, located in a boiler room beneath the iconic Chelsea Market, is a unique art destination and experience in New York City. Despite its century-old confines, ARTECHOUSE rightly presents itself as the art organization for the digital age. It’s an innovative space for immersive and interactive art exhibitions dedicated to providing the most advanced platforms for genre-pushing artists experimenting with emerging technologies and new forms of creative expression. 

Geometric Properties, an exhibit running at ARTECHOUSE, is a perfect example. Fractal visuals created by Dutch artist Julius Horsthuis, with original soundtracks by Michael Stearns and David Levy, the gallery’s newest exhibition is a 30-minute, eye-popping environment. According to the artist’s website, it “explores fundamental mathematical patterns to stimulate existential self-reflection and emphasize the pure wonderment of being.”

The Challenge

Since this is ARTECHOUSE’s third location, Executive Creative Director Riki Kim wanted it to push the experience benchmark. When they looked into the audio element, they wanted to have an immersive sound system without any hot spots in the room, plus a clear and transparent sound that would express the visual art’s wide range of tone and emotion.

The Solution

To address the wide range of exhibit material, the team chose L-Acoustics L-ISA Immersive Hyperreal Sound technology. Designed and installed in the main gallery for the venue’s grand opening in September of 2019, L-ISA allows artists to expand their canvases from the visual to the aural.

Queens-based See Factor supplied the 31-channel sound system at ARTECHOUSE NYC, which comprises 20 L-Acoustics X8 speakers used as perimeter/outer speakers, ten 5XT speakers deployed as overhead/inner speakers, and two SB15m subwoofers, which function as a single mono channel. The entire sound system is powered by six LA4X amplified controllers, with the immersive mix running through the L-ISA Processor. The sound technology is complemented by Barco-powered, 16K-resolution, 150-megapixel raster laser projection system.

The Result

With L-ISA, the team was able to take a very complex score with various elements, separate them, and place them in different places around the room. Since the mix had to be considered from all different angles because the audience is constantly walking around the space, experiencing the visuals and sound from wherever their vantage point is, L-ISA was the right choice to achieve this effect. ARTECHOUSE NYC Executive Creative Director Riki Kim noted that the impact of L-ISA technology is evident in the satisfaction of both artists and visitors to the venue and the installations.