The Immersive Van Gogh Art Exhibit in Northeast Minneapolis has been making headlines in the art world since it came to the city earlier this summer. Originally premiering in Paris, the exhibit has now made its way to 20 different U.S. cities. The project, created by Massimiliano Siccardi, is an immersive experience telling the story of Van Gogh’s life and work.

The exhibit is composed of a small room and a large room. Both rooms are dark and outfitted with high-quality projectors that fill the walls with mesmerizing animations of Van Gogh paintings. The animations truly bring the paintings to life and mostly consist of parallaxing paintings behind one another. It’s elegant and strikes a nearly perfect balance of simplicity and complexity. All of the animations are two-dimensional, staying true to the origin of the show: paintings. The complexity, however, shows through in the color. While looking at a painting lets the viewer experience a color, the feeling of being in a room truly filled with a color is an entirely different experience. Sitting in the small room, the viewer is enveloped and almost overwhelmed by Van Gogh’s art every time the scene changes.

Just as important as the projection art is the music. The soundtrack is composed mostly of instrumental tracks that play over high-quality speakers in sync with the visual element of the experience. The music was carefully and successfully selected. The sounds strike a remarkable balance between completing the animated paintings and bringing their own sonic interest to the show.

The music and projection play together on a loop as a film of sorts. The loop is about 40 minutes long and follows an artfully crafted plot based on Van Gogh’s life. Attendees are encouraged to download a free app to learn more about the story of Van Gogh’s art and life in relation to the exhibit. It’s evident to the viewer that they are experiencing much more than a cool projection mapping project. The exhibit forms a kind of meta-art; it’s more than the sum of its parts. The exhibit isn’t creating new material (the music and paintings predate the show), but the artful combination of the two into a truly immersive physical experience is admirable.

Most of the criticism of the exhibit has been, understandably, surrounding its pricing. A review for the same exhibit in Austin labeled it rather cynical as, “a very expensive screensaver.” Tickets start at a surprising $39.99. Those who would like to indulge in the luxuries of a VIP ticket, (namely a cushion to use on the concrete floor and a poster) can pay $79.99. While the exhibit deserves much praise, the pricing may significantly limit who can afford to access the space.

But for those who can stomach the price, the exhibition is a truly unique and memorable experience. The Minneapolis show was recently extended through Nov. 19. Tickets are on sale now.