Heffel Fine Art Auction House is celebrating its upcoming spring sale as the auction season continues to reach impressive heights with an exciting virtual reality (VR) marketing campaign – a first for auction houses in Canada. Created by the BAFTA award-winning studio Alchemy VR, Heffel have released an experience that lets viewers see the star lot in its May 30th auction, Paul-Émile Borduas’ monumental Figures Schématiques, within virtual space.
With the demographic of international collectors in mind, the goal of the project was to provide art admirers buyers with a unique opportunity to see and experience the outstanding work prior to the live auction. The result is a five-minute experience that allows viewers to enter an immersive virtual gallery space and come up close to the iconic artwork like ever before. Within the experience viewers will be able to explore the details of the painting and even learn about its history, along with details about the renowned artist.
“We are thrilled to be able to connect with international collectors and enthusiasts through this virtual reality experience,” says David Heffel, President of Heffel Fine Art Auction House. “Paul-Émile Borduas’ Figures schématiques presents a once-in-a-lifetime market opportunity, and this VR channel will enable a truly international audience to discover and enjoy Borduas’ monumental canvas.”
Leading the May 30th auction, the 1956 canvas Figures Schématiques is from Borduas’ sought-after Black and White period and is estimated to achieve between $3 million and $5 million (CAD) at auction.
Anthony Geffen, CEO and Creative Director at Alchemy commented on the news saying: “It has been a great pleasure to be able to bring not only this iconic painting, but the backstory of Borduas and an incredible group of artists to life, through the power of virtual reality. It showcases one of the many applications this innovative technology can have for the art world, enabling people around the world to experience this exquisite painting.”
This experience marks the first time an auction house in Canada has used VR for the sale of a painting and Heffel is excited about the new channel, and its continued uses in the future. The film has been translated into seven languages to help reach enthusiasts in as many parts of the world as possible. This includes English, French, Arabic, German, Russian, Mandarin and Japanese. The film can be viewed over on the Heffel website and for more stories like this, keep reading VRFocus.
via Mint VR