Rachel Rossin b. 1987

On April 2, 2024, the Guggenheim’s rotunda witnessed the collision of the physical and digital worlds as New York–based multidisciplinary artist Rachel Rossin transformed the iconic space into a hybrid environment. This impressive metamorphosis, supported by the LG Guggenheim Art and Technology Initiative, set the scene for the annual Young Collectors Council (YCC) Party.

Rossin integrates painting and sculpture with gaming, video, and emergent technologies to create what she calls “combines.” Widely considered a pioneer in the realm of virtual reality, Rossin produces works that allow physical traits to exist in digital environments and digital creations to take form in the physical world. In her exploration of the various intersections between these two realms, Rossin has on occasion looked inward to her own lived experiences and even her genetic material for inspiration.

The original, site-specific installation by Rossin, titled Haha Real, transforms the Cistern into a three-act theater piece, drawing on both traditional art-making techniques and innovative technologies. Taking key inspiration from a diverse pool of influences, including Rossin’s favorite childhood story, The Velveteen Rabbit; the historic Marcel Duchamp lecture, The Creative Act, originally delivered in Houston; and the history and structure of the Cistern itself.

In The Velveteen Rabbit, the question “What is REAL?” is central. After the child who loved the Rabbit into being grows up and moves on, the Rabbit learns that “Realness” is both liberating and painful and is attained gradually over time through being loved (and ultimately lost) by another. Haha Real is a journey that unfolds over the course of a 30-minute visit around the quarter-mile diameter of the Cistern. As viewers circumnavigate the quarter mile Cistern, they stop at periodic “stations” where characters and symbols appear on LED holographic screens, while kinetic features and lighting augment the architecture of the space and the reflective surface of its water.

A high-fidelity score written by Rossin and performed by musician and sound artist, Frewuhn, accompanies the visuals, accentuating the Cistern’s 17-second reverberation. The end point of this journey is a cascade of uncanny sunsets within the darkness, hovering just above the reflective surface of the water inside the Cistern. Rossin is especially known for her use of technology, not only as a tool or medium, but as subject matter that helps us examine our relationship with our attention and autonomy. Rossin’s childhood voice, trained from recovered home videos using AI techniques, is heard throughout the installation. AI is also utilized in the visual elements of the work which are mixed with hand-drawn animation. The use of AI and virtual reality tools in the creation of the work furthers the artist’s inquiry into reality versus simulation. As a programmer and engineer, Rossin designs these systems herself, enabling her to embed meaning within the core components of the work.

The installation’s name, inspired by the first use of “haha” at the turn of the 18th century, refers to an awe-inspiring feature of European gardens that prompts viewers to exclaim “Ah ah!” The perceptual vastness provoked by the Cistern, a contemporary “Haha,” is both reflective of, and respite from, the persistent chaos of today’s technological quickening.

I’m my loving memory, Huyndai Musuem, Seoul, Korea, 2020-2021

I’m my loving memory consisted of melted, printed plexiglass sculptures bearing imagery derived from virtual worlds of the artist’s making. Slices of verdant landscapes and fragmented creatures populate these worlds, combining digital painting with found and modified 3D models.

Taking cues from plein-air painting and videogame culture, Rossin captured views of these fragmented landscapes and prints them on clear acrylic sheets. She then melted them with a blowtorch and shapes them around herself while holding various poses.

The process evokes the way in which 3D frames are textured with digital skins, and the interplay between bodily experience and virtual worlds. The virtual worlds used as source material for these sculptures are integrated into the installation via an AR app.