Colombo’s Metaverse
COLOMBO’S METAVERSE
An innovative digital experience to relive Gianni Colombo’s works
Experience Gianni Colombo’s kinetic art in a completely new way. The Colombo’s Metaverse transports you into a digital universe where his works come to life, offering you an interactive and engaging experience.
ONLINE SOON
The “Colombo’s Metaverse” experience will be available on this page starting April 28, 2025. Want to try it in preview? Participate in the presentation event at the Catholic University of Milan (04/28, 2:30-4:30 PM). Limited seats.
VR EXPERIENCE
Follow our Instagram profile @giannicolomboarchivio to stay updated on all events at the Archive where it will be possible to try the complete VR experience.
The Project
Gianni Colombo explored space in depth, in an era when 3D and interaction were exclusively physical and virtual reality was still confined to scientific research. His artistic legacy represents movement as a symbol of change, in opposition to standards, conventions, and routines.
“Colombo’s Metaverse” is not a simple digital archiving, but a true reinvention of the artistic experience. Technology doesn’t just reproduce the works, but amplifies their value, allowing users to experience art that transcends physical, temporal, and architectural boundaries.
Many of Colombo’s works today exist only as sketches, historical photographs, or fragments that cannot be reconstructed.
Thanks to digital innovation, “Colombo’s Metaverse” transforms this impossibility into an opportunity, digitizing and recreating the works in an immersive virtual environment accessible to a global audience.
The Experience
Through this platform, visitors from around the world can now:
- Virtually explore key works of the artist such as “Elastic Space,” “Practicable Field,” “Curved Space,” and “Bariesthesia”
- Immerse themselves in virtual rooms where they can experience the same perceptual alteration effects designed by the artist
- Visit urban and architectural works that are difficult to access
- Live an inclusive experience that breaks down architectural barriers and ensures accessibility for people with motor or sensory disabilities
The experience is accessible both from computers and through VR headsets, allowing different levels of immersion in Gianni Colombo’s creative universe.
Goals and Results
The project aims to:
- Preserve and disseminate Gianni Colombo’s artistic legacy
- Make accessible works that would otherwise only be visible through photographic documentation
- Create a bridge between past and future, between material and digital, between spectator and artwork
- Reduce environmental impact compared to the construction and transportation of physical installations
Project Partners
“Colombo’s Metaverse” was conceived and led by Studio Volpi, the initiative’s leader, and realized thanks to the collaboration of:
- AnotheReality: technical partner responsible for developing the virtual environment
- Center for Studies and Research in Communication Psychology (PsiCom) of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart of Milan: scientific partner that analyzes the experience of artwork in a virtual environment, evaluating the user’s engagement, understanding, and emotional impact
Support and Funding
“Colombo’s Metaverse” was created within the framework of the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) through the Innovacultura grant. Initiative realized with the contribution of the ERDF Program, European Regional Development Fund of Lombardy Region.
The project was developed thanks to the combination of resources from the European Union, the Italian State, and the Lombardy Region, in application of Regulation (EU) No. 1060/2021.
