Show #33 features a collection of VR experiments in the main gallery curated by Paul Slocum and a new video wall work by Jacob Ciocci in the back gallery.

VR is a curious medium. Despite its mindblowing first impressions, the VR industry is still struggling to find itself and might be susceptible to the waxing and waning that 3D film's popularity has experienced over the last half-century. The equipment is still cumbersome and complicated, there are not yet any killer VR apps, and barely any market exists to fund development. Meanwhile, artists like Jeff Koons and Marina Abramovic assume that VR is just about hiring the right digital production company. Obviously, VR has potential for interesting artwork and games, but it's a formidable challenge to create something with staying power beyond the first dazzle of the VR experience.

This exhibition has assembled a collection of compelling VR experiences from a deep dive into the VR games, mods, and software projects currently available on the internet and Steam. Despite the VR industry's limited software output, there is a loyal fanbase of enthusiasts, modders, and developers who are continually producing small, interesting projects. Many of the games and simulations that VR veterans put the most hours into also take a substantial amount of effort and special equipment to set up, and we will be evaluating a variety of these projects and finding the most interesting ones. The gallery will have two VR headsets installed with a rotating series of software/hardware configurations including Euro Truck Simulator 2's VR beta with films and other media screened in the cab, a Skyrim VR mod that retextures every surface using Google's Deepdream computer vision algorithm, a fully 3D VR Nintendo emulator that can be fed unsupported ROMs with interesting results, and a program that allows running games and programs in full VR that were not designed for it.

In the back gallery we have a new 6-channel video wall work by Jacob Ciocci. In his paintings, video, and performances, Ciocci uses pop culture, nostalgia, and branding to explore profound and mundane expressions of freedom, authenticity, suffering, and rage. In this new piece, Ciocci focuses specifically on the relationship between the therapist and the client, in a "video comic" that both validates and critiques the process of self-discovery that may or may not occur via one-on-one counseling. Ciocci first began making these multi-channel "video comics" in 2003, as part of the collective Paper Rad in 2003. In these works, each monitor functions as a panel within the traditional structure of a 6-panel comic strip. In this new video comic, Ciocci uses six panels to set the stage for and then take apart what happens inside the therapist's office, as a client waits for his next big therapeutic breakthrough.

For questions and all press inquiries, please contact Paul Slocum, Owner and Director, at info@andorgallery.com or (214) 676-5347.