'Color can arouse strong emotions': Pantone's 'classic blue' comes to life in NYC exhibit

NEW YORK — Have you ever wondered what a color might be like if it were brought to life?

Right now, at Artechouse, an innovative art space that focuses on the intersection of art, technology and science in New York City's Chelsea Market, you have the opportunity to find out with a new immersive installation: "Submerge," which opened to the public Wednesday and will remain open through Feb. 23.

The digital art space, which also has locations in Washington, D.C., and Miami, teamed up with the Pantone Color Institute, which touts itself as the global color authority, to create an immersive installation centering on Pantone's color of the year for 2020: "classic blue," or PANTONE 19-4052, to help kick off New York Fashion Week.

When you step into the installation, the outside world melts away.

Inside Chelsea Market's old boiler room, which was transformed into Artechouse and opened to the public last year with rotating exhibits, guests can transcend the daily monotony of the concrete jungle with the multi-sensory installation.

The exhibit opens with interactive elements, including screens that follow the motions of visitors, before a descent from the mezzanine area onto a lower level on which the walls and the floor are lit up with different expressions of "classic blue" by projectors. It's the exploration of a color through sight, sound and taste through projections with accompanying beats or instrumental pieces to accompany the visual movements, which at one point even feature a massive image of the globe that evolves into a sparkling sphere. And with the Artechouse smartphone app, guests can immerse even further with augmented reality drinks that "taste" like blue.

How did 'Submerge' come to be?

"Submerge" was curated and produced by Artechouse's creative team, led by Sandro Kereselidze and Tati Pastukhova, the space's founders.

"As we approached [the installation] the element of storytelling was really important to us. As artists, color is an important touch point, an important element," Pastukhova explained to USA TODAY. "Musicians use notes to evoke emotions. For artists, color can arouse strong emotions."

The opportunity to focus on just one color and take visitors through a journey of immersion in that color was an enticing one, she said.

"It’s exciting to challenge ourselves in using this digital format to really create something unique for people to experience that is related to the color," Kereselidze added.

Laurie Pressman, vice president of the Pantone Color Institute, told USA TODAY in an email that the institute has picked a color of the year since 1999 to highlight dynamic ties between color, current events and culture.

"Each Color of the Year has reflected not only what is taking place in culture but also the feeling that we as a global society need at that moment," she said.

This particular color, displayed in various formats in all its glory, was chosen by Pantone to elicit a certain feeling.

"Classic Blue is a timeless and enduring hue elegant in its simplicity. Suggestive of the sky at dusk, the reassuring qualities of Classic Blue highlight our desire for a dependable and stable foundation from which to build as we cross the threshold into a new era," Pressman explained. "Classic Blue is imbued with a deep resonance, and provides an anchoring foundation. It encourages us to expand our thinking, think more deeply, widen our perspective and communicate openly."

Things to know if you visit

Hourly, Artechouse will admit around 75 people per half hour. The idea is to give the public a curated experience to really connect with the color, Pastukhova explained.

But guests aren't limited to a timed session. All are allowed to stay as long as they'd like.

"It’s really how each individual connects to it and is able to kind of dive into it," Kereselidze said. "It’s really it’s like any art form, right? If you like something, you want to keep watching and keep appreciating it."

He's seen some guests stay for three hours and go through a range of emotions, including tears, during past exhibits.

And standing surrounded by three walls with projections of moving patterns surrounding you and even swallowing you up, into a wave of "classic blue," there certainly is a feeling that resonates.

Tickets range from $17 to $24 and can be purchased in advance or at the door.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pantone color of the year: Classic blue has exhibit at NYC Artechouse