Technology has played an increasingly important role in the art market in recent years, transforming how art is experienced, sold, and collected. As a result, online art sales have grown, with some reports stating they now account for 17-25% of all art sales during 2020-2022. Annual Art Basel market reports have highlighted this trend and forecasted continued growth in online sales in the coming years.
The emergence of Gen-Z collectors, possessing an estimated purchasing power of $143 billion, has greatly influenced the art market. These young collectors have entered the stage with new expectations, prioritizing seamless online purchasing experiences over traditional offline interactions. Consequently, they are attracted to innovative ways of experiencing and acquiring art, such as AR and VR technologies, that offer immersive and interactive experiences previously unavailable on old-school web pages. They finally get a more intimate view of a work, from the comfort of their home, in a virtual space, or even integrated into their interiors, free from crowds and often enhanced by videos, animations, music, and digital storytelling.
As the art market continues to evolve, virtual art galleries have become a powerful new tool for modern artists, galleries, and collectors. This article will review the top 5 virtual art galleries in 2023, analyzing their pros and cons to determine the best fit for different needs. Whether you're a seasoned collector, a local gallery owner, or an emerging artist, this comprehensive guide will help you navigate the rapidly growing world of virtual art shows and related tools.
Baroque
Best user experience
Baroque, positioned as "A virtual gallery," is a relatively new platform focused on unparalleled virtual exhibition experiences with exceptional graphics. Its immersive shows have set a new standard in the market. The screenshots and videos captured in the Baroque exhibitions can be easily confused with ones made in a real gallery.
Stats is one of the most helpful features for artists and galleries cooperating with Baroque. It helps them better understand the performance of their exhibitions by providing insights into a visitor to buyer conversion and their interactions, such as the most viewed artworks or visitor demographics. This valuable data can help Baroque clients optimize their exhibitions and marketing strategies.
Unlike its competitors, Baroque requires a mobile app to visit its shows. The reason is that Baroque hosts art exhibitions using a blend of virtual and augmented reality approaches. Once the app is installed, it uses the phone camera as a window to the virtual show. While still working on a web version, the Baroque development team encourages visitors to physically move around with their phones and tablets while exploring exhibitions to gain a more authentic experience. There is also an option to use gestures (swipes and zooms) instead of physical movement. But it was developed primarily for people with disabilities. The app works differently on phones and tablets that do not support AR. In these cases, visitors explore exhibitions using virtual joysticks, similar to playing a first-person computer game or some competitors' solutions.
Visitors can also use the AR features of the app to fit artwork directly from the virtual show with a few taps. The frame switcher allows potential buyers to see artwork with or without frames. If the work doesn't fit, visitors can return to the exhibition where they left off. If it does, the client can leave a purchase request.
Many exhibitions in the app are supplemented with videos, animations, and background music.
Exhibiting in Baroque is free; however, not everyone can work with their platform. The team carefully selects artists and their projects before they appear in the app feed. Selected artists receive limited support with press releases and curatorial work for their shows. In exchange for their services, Baroque requires a commission per sold work. The commission varies and is negotiated before each exhibition.
Baroque has also started a standard art marketplace on the website and mobile app. It features the works that are available for sale in their exhibitions.
Pros:
• Exceptional graphics and virtual space quality
• Forever free plan for artists
• Simple yet functional works catalog
• Media support for artists
• Assistance in exhibition curation
• The most immersive exhibition experience
Cons:
• Visitors must install the mobile app
• Only one virtual space is available (more rooms are expected in Q2 2023)
ArtPlacer
Best toolset
ArtPlacer, positioned as "A marketing tool for artists and galleries," is designed for artists and galleries to promote their work online in several ways: on virtual 3D exhibitions accessible via a web browser, displaying art against pre-selected or uploaded interior images, and utilizing AR technology in real interior settings. All these features are available as widgets that the platform clients can integrate into their websites.
The service doesn't offer free functions; after the trial period, users must subscribe to one of the available tariff plans to keep using it. ArtPlacer provides clients with a highly convenient artwork catalog that can quickly be filled in from a CSV file. The artworks can be marked with different colors and labels for easier search and filtering.
The exhibition curation and customization process in ArtPlacer is typical for most virtual galleries: users move around the virtual space with a standard keyboard and mouse combination (just like their visitors when the exhibition is started), place artworks on the walls, and change the walls and floor colors. Unfortunately, videos and GIF animation are not allowed, which might be a drawback for some contemporary artists. On the other hand, organizers can display 3D sculptures and use a wide variety of frames for 2D works. The platform offers three virtual spaces of varying sizes, each with different artwork display capacities. Visitors can view a PDF brochure (if the artist uploaded one in the dashboard) and a quick-access artwork list. The platform does not process purchases - the exhibition organizers have to attach personal website links to each artwork to lead visitors to make a purchase.
The platform has three pricing plans ranging from $9 to $45 per month, billed annually, with varying features and benefits that users can learn about on the ArtPlacer website.
Pros:
• The most convenient artwork catalog on the market
• Handy widgets for artists
• Numerous framing options for artwork
• 3D sculpture exhibitions
Cons:
• Only paid services
• Mediocre graphics at exhibitions
ArtSteps
Best exhibition customizations
ArtSteps, positioned as “a web-based application that empowers creators to build exhibitions, events, and brand storytelling concepts,” offers its users a multifunctional exhibition editor almost comparable to The Sims game. Adding 3D models on the pedestals and placing them inside intricate labyrinths, which are covered with easy-editable text, is not a problem once you master the exhibition constructor. While this flexibility makes the editor quite complex, there are both paid and free ready-made solutions for virtual spaces are available at the ArtSteps marketplace. Another unique feature is the exhibition guide: each exhibition organizer can configure a pathway to lead their visitors from one exhibit to another in a specific order.
Like with the ArtPlacer, artwork purchase is available through third-party links only, which are exclusive to the paid exhibition spaces, so the users who create exhibitions for free are not allowed to sell their artwork. Custom 3D spaces, virtual events, and shows on private sub-domains are among other paid features offered by ArtSteps. The prices are calculated individually.
The shows are available on the ArtSteps website and in the dedicated mobile apps for iOS and Android. The bonus option here is an option to use the app with the cardboard VR.
There are numerous exhibitions on the platform. The reason is the shows do not go through any moderation, and anyone can sign up, create a free exhibition, and publish it, with or even without any artwork. In fact, there are too many of them, but luckily they can be filtered by views, ratings, and topics.
Visitors can change the graphics settings, similar to a computer game. While adjusting the lighting complexity, the texture quality remains unchanged. Strangely, some exhibitions have good graphics while others look outdated, regardless of the chosen settings.
Pros:
• The most flexible VR space builder
• Ability to create a free exhibition and publish it instantly
• Many paid and free templates, with the option to order a custom one
• ArtSteps representatives can arrange the entire exhibition for you (paid service)
• Custom guided tours
• Exhibition on private sub-domain
Cons:
• Supported video files are limited to 4MB (that is, only in very poor quality)
• No artwork-fitting tools
Art Gate VR
Best space for art events
Art Gate VR, positioned as “an art district in the Metaverse," enables joint visits to art exhibitions, fairs, and conferences in the shared virtual spaces. It’s the only option in our list for those who want to meet their audience, collectors, and other artists in real-time in a virtual art space. We thank Art Gate for making it look professional and minimalistic, without all the meta-bells and whistles that bring Fortnite vibes (unlike Spatial). What you'll find on their website instead is the open calls, event schedules, registration forms, and essential news typical for any other professional platform.
As in the case of Baroque, the Art Gate shows do not look like a selection of random pictures from the net. The reason is Art Gate is focused primarily on galleries. Whoever does not exhibit here. Apparently, this leads to such a high subscription price. The platform offers a range of subscription options for galleries to showcase their works, from $99 per month for 16 paintings and five sculptures to $299 for the featured entrance from the main lobby. Despite the focus on galleries, uploading and cataloging works can become a headache if the gallerist needs to upload many at once - assets are uploaded only one by one.
Art Gate is also the only representative in our review that supports VR helmets for the most convenient communication at virtual events. While the price for such devices is still high, the use cases with Art Gate are impressive - from the more lively artist talks to in-person guided curatorial tours for the visitors, just like in a real gallery.
Pros
• Live communication and joint visits to exhibitions
• Virtual events (art fairs, conferences, artist talks) in the metaverse
• 3D sculptures at exhibitions
• VR helmets support
Cons
• Outdated graphics at exhibitions
• No artwork-fitting tools
KunstMatrix
Best art-fitting AR tool
KunstMatrix, positioned as “a tool to curate and present art virtually,” offers virtual exhibitions, art-fitting tools, and artwork catalogs for artists and art galleries.
The standout feature of KunstMatrix is its dedicated application for artwork fitting. Unlike Baroque, KunstMatrix separates the process of visiting exhibitions from trying on works. Users can access the shows directly on the website, while the Augmented Reality fitting feature requires a separate mobile app. The most impressive aspect of it is that users can fit entire collections of artwork prepared by the gallery, not just individual pieces.
Let's discuss the exhibitions on KunstMatrix. The graphics are subpar, and the customization options for exhibition spaces are minimal. Artists can contact the KunstMatrix team to request exclusive customizations. Ready-made gallery spaces are available for purchase in the KunstMatrix marketplace. Unfortunately, videos or 3D models are not supported.
On the other hand, KunstMatrix provides tools aimed at classic gallerist operations, such as generating automatic PDF catalogs of works, maintaining a client database (although it is not a full-fledged CRM), and conducting automated tours of exhibitions for visitors. These tools are a valuable bonus.
Similarly to the ArtSteps, many exhibitions are presented on the website. And many of them also look like they were created as an experiment or even generated automatically.
Pros:
• Dedicated mobile application for bulk artworks fitting in AR
• User-friendly interface for creating virtual exhibitions
• Wide range of gallery templates with customization options
• Automatic creation of pdf catalogs for exhibitions
• Auto-generated guided tours around the exhibition for visitors
Cons:
• Subpar graphics at exhibitions
• Expensive additional virtual spaces
• No 3D models and videos at exhibitions
There are also other options for you to choose from if you are looking for a virtual space to showcase your art. The reviewed platforms are just doing a better job in certain things worth mentioning. Seeing how META’s virtual ambitions shrank, we expect several more years before the related techs are ready to embrace the art market even more confidently. Meanwhile, be sure that your art will be in good hands with the listed companies.
