DMINTI, in collaboration with the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami (ICA Miami), is thrilled to unveil Laurie Simmons’ and Peter Wheelwright's The Kaleidoscope (...Bigger) House, an immersive public installation. Simmons and Wheelwright bring their iconic Kaleidoscope House to life in a fresh, innovative form as a participatory sculpture with AI-driven features, situated in the heart of Miami’s Design District. The interactive installation will be on view from December 3rd through March 31st at 3900 NE 2nd Avenue.
Originally created as a 1:12 scale modernist dollhouse, produced by Bozart Toys in 2001 and sold at the MoMA Design Shop this innovative "creative play environment" showcased a contemporary design with mid-century-inspired rooflines outfitted with modern furniture and decor by renowned contributors such as Dakota Jackson, Karim Rashid, Ron Arad, Jonathan Adler, and with art by Carroll Dunham (Simmons’ husband and Wheelwright’s college roommate), Cindy Sherman, Peter Halley and Mel Kendrick. Its layout included a great room with a fireplace, an open-concept kitchen, a dining area, a living room, a bathroom, and two bedrooms with lofts accessible via ladders. With its suggestions of class and style, the house suggests leisure and the economic structures of the contemporary home.
Simmons' work across media has long been inspired by theatricality, the authenticity of images, and the domestic space. Often her iconic photographic works have featured miniature dolls and toys set amid archetypal and cinematic scenes.
“Laurie Simmons is a key voice in the history and development of technology and identity in contemporary art, a thought leader whose work profoundly resonates today,” says Alex Gartenfeld, ICA Miami’s Irma and Norman Braman Artistic Director. “ICA Miami is proud to work alongside DMINTI to commission this significant new interactive and new-media work by Simmons with Peter Wheelwright, building upon an important work by the artist in ICA Miami’s collection. Our collaborations with DMINTI reflect a shared commitment to advancing innovation in contemporary art and ICA Miami’s ongoing engagement with new media practices.”
Simmons returns to Miami following the success of the 2023 Young Arts Foundation exhibition Autofiction, which recognized Simmons as one of the first artists to seriously embrace Artificial Intelligence (AI). The ICA Miami will also exhibit new works by Laurie Simmons entitled “DEEP PHOTOS/KALEIDOSCOPE HOUSE” during Art Basel. In this body of work, Simmons has collaborated with the AI platforms DALL-E and Stable Diffusion to construct real and imagined scenes from the “Kaleidoscope House.” Setting her staged tableaux in deep frames with clear resin, Simmons parallels and refracts the elements she has collaged together in her acclaimed dollhouse photographs. DMINTI CEO and Co-founder Carola Jain says “Laurie Simmons is an iconic artist whose groundbreaking exploration of image manipulation has shaped the art world and American culture. Her work in AI positions her at the cutting edge of innovation. Together, we draw inspiration from the remarkable intersection of art and technology. We are proud to present Simmons’ collaboration with esteemed architect and novelist Peter Wheelwright, which invites the public to engage with art and architecture through technology in fresh and meaningful ways."
Simmons adds “Peter Wheelwright and I are thrilled to revisit our plan to build a life-size version of The Kaleidoscope House. Updates to Peter’s design, which was intended for Union Square in New York, combine our original full-scale house with a dynamic generation of images. Visitors to the house will receive various AI generated portraits in the Kaleidoscope House rooms, based on my 2001 series of photographs. These images, delivered to smart phones, give viewers a chance to imagine what life inside a Kaleidoscope House space might look like. The AI component of the project connects it to my recent painting and film projects, particularly the Deep Photos/Kaleidoscope House (2024) sculptures on view at ICA Miami.” ICA Miami will also exhibit Simmons’ and Wheelwright’s original Kaleidoscope House.
In collaboration with DMINTI, ICA Miami worked with Simmons and Wheelwright to create The Kaleidoscope (...Bigger) House, an immersive public installation. Over the last decade, Simmons has continually engaged with technology, including artificial intelligence. The reimagined Kaleidoscope House is an interactive space that invites the public to engage directly with Simmons' photographic visionary world. Using AI-driven features and interactive photographic triggers, visitors step inside the installation and leave with a personalized digital keepsake that bridges art and technology.
