the street is our gallery

New-York based contemporary artist Anne Vieux recently contributed a public art intervention to Downtown Bentonville’s growing portfolio of outdoor art experiences. Curated by Charlotte Dutoit of global women-led curator group Justkids, and commissioned by local art organization Oz Art , /meta_material i s an immersive holographic mural installation conceived by the artist and integrated the architectural Skylight Cinema building and its concrete finish walls.

Working across painting, installation, textiles and sculptures, Anne Vieux is interested in exploring light as a medium to create abstract works of art with her signature undulating purple, pink and blue hues. Using digital copies of shiny aluminum papers, she creates fields of color from amulti-layered process and exports digitalized aesthetics into the physical space.

When tasked with transforming the Skylight building, the artist pushed the limits of the image data to create a captivating illusion of a hyper-fluid space by applying her painting to the structure using aluminium sheets. Crossing the boundaries between real and virtual /meta_material invites the viewer to immerse in its painterly effect and to question the very nature of perception itself. “In this piece, I wanted to disrupt the solid geometries of the architecture with a hyperreal fluid painting placed in the
landscape. There are two color schemes presenting two very close realities; one in cool tones, scaled up, and another in earthen tones, inverted and zooming out, repeating in the columns. I reflected on these ideas in a cultural/political context, thinking that a larger takeaway of this piece is that through disrupting and dissolving boundaries we can create a fluid open space where there’s room to unite.” said the artist about the creative process.

“Anne Vieux’s experimental outdoor piece brings a unique approach to traditional public art and murals. While inviting Bentonville’s residents and visitors to a visual escape, she ismaking a splash by setting a new paradigm in the field.” expressed Justkids curator Charlotte Dutoit on the decision to bring forward this art project. It is not the first time Justkids has worked to bring public art to Arkansas. Since 2015 they have curated and produced over 50 pieces from sculptures to installations, performances, murals and exhibitions for institutions, cities and organizations of the region.

The piece is part of ARkanvas, a statewide engagement curated by Justkids and commissioned by OZ Art in partnership with Unexpected, bringing public art by world-renowned artists to Arkansas communities.

Visit www.justkids.art and follow @justkidsofficial on social media for project updates.