by Sofia Rossi and Cooper Bowen
Local News Editor and Editor-in-Chief

Following its acclaimed success in Paris, the Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit opened in San Francisco on Apr. 11th and will run until Sept. 6th. Featuring a massive, 300,000 cubic foot ballroom with animated interpretations of Van Gogh’s work projected onto every wall, the exhibit brings to life some of his most iconic paintings. This one-of-a-kind panoramic display, accompanied by deafening crescendos of orchestral music, offers a mesmerizing dive into the renowned artist’s mind.

Upon entering the exhibit, punny signs on the floor—this one aided by a print of Bedroom in Arles—direct visitors to the main room.

A similar sign, accompanied by blossoms from Van Gogh’s Irises, further guides attendees.

Puffs of smoke rise from a faintly glowing ember in Van Gogh’s Skull of a Skeleton with Burning Cigarette.

An unnamed peasant, hardened by a life of poverty, observes the somber crowd in this portrait by Van Gogh.

Three separate portraits of 19th-century peasants, including Head of A Peasant With Cap on the right, gaze out from the dark.

Van Gogh’s Self Portrait with Straw Hat V peers out from behind a cloud of buzzing cicadas, inspired by Gogh’s ink and paper sketch Three Cicadas.

A blood orange backdrop highlights Young Man With Cornflower, who stares down upon dozens of socially-distant onlookers.

Inspired by Van Gogh’s Vase with Twelve Sunflowers from the iconic Arles series, these aptly-named blooms blanket a robins-egg-blue backdrop.

Van Gogh’s Two Cut Sunflowers and other blooms from his similarly-iconic Paris series pile together in this rich, resplendent collage.

A mesmerizing, ever-moving collision of the Paris and Arles sunflower series parades around the exhibit.

Van Gogh’s assorted portraits of peasantry slowly roll across the room before a hushed audience.

Audience members gaze upon Van Gogh’s portraits Peasant Woman Cooking by a Fireplace (left) and Woman Reeling Yarn (center).

One of several in a series, the strikingly vivid blossoms from Van Gogh’s Irises spring up along the walls.

A sun-drenched row of buildings borders golden farmland in The Yellow House, an 1888 oil painting by Van Gogh.

A snarled husk of a tree, bleached with age, stands like a pillar in the picturesque European countryside.

A deep indigo sky, speckled with stars, illuminates Van Gogh’s ethereal depiction of this midnight cityscape.

In a tumultuous collision of Van Gogh’s Le Moulin de la Galette series, several interpretations of the same Parisian windmill spin furiously beneath a stormy sky.

Once solitary, Van Gogh’s Girl in White stands in a wheatfield accompanied by herself.

As one painting transforms into another, a smattering of poppies emerges from this snapshot of canoes and cottages.

Flames glow a brilliant yellow behind Van Gogh’s Peasant Woman Cooking by a Fireplace.

As the audience looks on, streaks of lemony yellow pummel abstract explosions of oil paint.

Each of the four walls are emblazoned with several renditions of The Potato Eaters, an 1885 oil painting by Van Gogh.

Upon exiting the main room, visitors experience a modern interpretation of the 19th-century artist’s self-portrait.

Electric, eye-catching paintings by a prominent SF artist, Jun Yang (@Junyarts), line a recessed cavity in the exhibit’s wall.