Roarington surprises: the Art Center extending a passion for automobiles into the realm of art.
29 November 2024 1 min read 3 images
It may come as a surprise that Art Basel, the largest and most influential platform for the global art market, has published an insightful article dedicated to a museum that does not exist. Entitled “Inside the Museum That Doesn’t Exist”, (read it here ArtBasel.com) it reveals an opportunity that could transform and enrich the experience of collecting both art and automobiles. Even if the museum is not a physical reality, someone holds the key to entering it and discovering impeccably curated exhibitions, accessible at any time, without spatial constraints, and with a scale and depth that only the digital realm can offer. That “someone” is Roarington and its enchanting world, which has decided to place its passion for extraordinary automobiles, both classic and contemporary, side by side with another equally refined passion: art.
A grand virtual building, designed by architect Benedetto Camerana, who embraced the creative freedom offered by digital space, has been named the Roarington Art Center; its director is the renowned art collector and publisher Michael Ringier, who, having understood twenty years ago the potential of digital innovation in the publishing world, recognizes that this new way of experiencing art has all the qualities required for genuine success. Alongside him stands Fritz Kaiser, a visionary entrepreneur from Liechtenstein who founded the nonprofit TCCT to preserve automotive heritage through digital innovation. Together, they form the pillars of Roarington’s next step into the future. As Kaiser explains: “In any city, whether physical or digital, there must be a place for art. Here we have created something new: not a replica of the physical museum, but a reinvention of how art can be displayed and experienced in the 21st century.”
Supporting these three leading figures is a team that makes the Roarington world more vibrant and engaging each day.
For an initiative as exciting and forward-looking as the Art Center, the choice of artists and works to be presented to a global audience will be crucial. The debut exhibition of this “museum that doesn’t exist” will be of great significance: 50 years of work by renowned Californian artist Matt Mullican, a pioneering figure who began exploring ideas of the metaverse decades ago. “Already in the ’70s I wondered what it might feel like to inhabit a space like this,” the artist explains. Today, through Roarington’s Art Center, he is finally able to find the answer.
Distributed across eight galleries will be paintings, frottage works, lightboxes, videos, works on paper, and installations. Every piece is rendered to appear three-dimensional. The paintings, for instance, emerge on stretcher frames that physically project out from the walls. “There is a sense of spatial presence and emotional atmosphere” says Kaiser. “You don’t move through space as you normally would: you enter, explore, and feel.”
The Art Center plans to host two exhibitions per year. The first, by Matt Mullican, next February. Ringier will invite curators to organize shows based on key works from his collection. But developments are expected to go far beyond what one can currently imagine.
In the near future, users will be able to acquire plots of land and buildings in Roarington, supported by blockchain certification. Ownership can extend to digital replicas of artworks and digital twins of cars. These assets will not only function within Roarington but will also exist as autonomous digital holdings. The Art Center will also integrate augmented and virtual reality as part of the visitor experience.
With this new chapter, Roarington will reaffirm the core idea at the heart of Fritz Kaiser’s vision: passions such as art, fashion, design, and automobiles do not risk being altered by digital technologies rather, they gain unprecedented and powerful tools that make them more broadly and easily accessible than ever before.
