[...] In the months since COVID-19 shut down most traditional in-person avenues for viewing and purchasing art, virtual reality (VR)—along with its associated forms of extended (XR) and alternate reality (AR)—has become increasingly prevalent not just as a medium for creation, but also as a tool for conducting business. The VR format is a new frontier for many of those involved, and the transition to virtual space has required art-world players to adapt to the challenges—and possibilities—that come with operating in a medium that is in many ways still largely unexplored.
Booths by participating galleries such as New York's bitforms and London- and Addis Ababa-based gallery Addis Fine Art show off the fair's 3D composite capabilities, displaying sculptures and floor works by Auriea Harvey and Tsedaye Makonnen, respectively. Starting Thursday, virtual fairgoers will be able to move among and around fully rendered facsimiles of their work. [...]
