The Painted Portal is an extended reality installation that transforms traditional modes of
art appreciation into an embodied, multisensory experience.
Web Panoramic view
“The body is the center of the perceptual field.”
The colors, shapes, and symbols of the painting instantly blend into the real environment. Touch, move, and recombine elements. Each "Painted Door" is user-created and shareable; art steps out of museums and grows in the streets, forests, and everyday life.
Combined Device Version 2025 (offline exhibition)
The Painted Portal System Design
This system is built using XR large-space tracking and Unity 3D for the Meta Quest 3 headset, enabling visitors to move freely through the physical exhibition while transitioning seamlessly into five virtual art environments. The system includes four core components:
1.Spatial Alignment. Minimalist geometric structures in the exhibition act as physical doorways, each precisely aligned with its virtual counterpart;
2.Virtual Worlds. Each world reflects the distinct visual language of a specific artist. Color, layout, and sound are adapted from the artist’s style and rendered as interactive spatial compositions;
3.Doorway Types. Visitors enter virtual worlds by passing through physical doorways. Within each scene, virtual doorways enable further transitions. These include functional doorways (navigable), false doorways (non-navigable, used as spatial or visual cues), and thematic doorways shaped by the source artwork, such as a silhouette doorway referencing La Condition Humaine in the Magritte-inspired space;
4.Interaction. Users can grab, move, and rearrange 3D elements. Visual and auditory feedback respond to their actions, supporting embodied, multisensory engagement. Together, these components create an immersive system that connects physical motion with virtual exploration, making spatial movement central to the experience of art.
Development Process
Core Technology Stack Unity 2022.2.60f1 + URP + Meta XR All-in-One SDK Hardware Meta Quest 3 Assets Paintings → Photoshop + Krea.ai → Meshy.ai → Blender → Unity
User Experience
Participants begin the experience by wearing a headset at a central starting point. In front of them, a series of geometric physical doorways, marks the beginning of their journey.
Users are free to choose their exploration order, stepping through any doorway to enter an immersive space. Inside each environment, users don’t simply view the artwork; they move through it. Color, composition, rhythm, and sound respond dynamically to their presence. Some spaces are calm and flowing, while others feel surreal or acoustically fragmented.
For example, in the Kandinsky-inspired world, users navigate a rhythmic field of geometric forms and color blocks, with sound and motion reacting to their movement. Each virtual scene is mapped to the real exhibition space using spatial mapping and understanding, ensuring that movement and interaction feel intuitive.
The duration of the experience depends on the path and pace chosen by the viewer. After visiting all five, they return to the starting point to complete the journey