Samsung Canada has partnered with Canadian artist Nicolas Abtan, creating the Re:Frame installation in downtown Toronto. This innovative and creatively rich use of Samsung’s The Frame TV is being used to showcase Abtan’s pieces as locals pass through The Well in the city.
Located at 486 Front Street West is The Well, an open-concept shopping centre and eatery. It’s become a hotspot for installations as hundreds of people amass to the location each day. Samsung has taken advantage of the open area located within The Well’s two major staircases. The Re:Frame installation is an eye-popping and gorgeous use of the space.
The company collaborates with Abtan, a local acrylic painter from Toronto. At only 23 years old, Abtan was contacted by Samsung to create a series of paintings that can be displayed using The Frame displays. “They saw my art and they wanted to see if I could do something with The Frame,” Abtan explains. The installation is a thoughtful combination of contemporary art that you’d find at an exhibit and cutting-edge technology.
Each piece uses Samsung The Frame displays. With a matte display to avoid glare from the sunlight and its use of QLED technology, The Frame can render beautifully rich images. It offers Quantum Dot technology to support vivid colours and breathtaking contrast. Of course, it also supports an Art Mode, which can display a series of digital art pieces. This was the inception of Samsung’s collaboration with Abtan. To complement most pieces, Abtan created immersive frames that took advantage of the magnetic frame technology of Samsung’s TVs.
“I’ve never done this before, but it was really cool with their Frame TV and how it actually looks like a canvas. Some people walk by there and are surprised that it’s a TV. So, I just tried to treat it like an actual canvas. I had a few ideas that I had to try and think of. Some with magnets, some with a wooden frame and I tried all that. I had to do some trial and error, for sure.”
The Re:Frame installation is a way for those in Toronto to come and see Abtan’s pieces up close in a way that’s unique within the art realm. It feels like you’re experiencing a traditional art exhibit. Only if you pull back slightly, you’ll see that Samsung Canada expertly uses the installation to highlight many of The Frames’ features and benefits.
Putting the installation together was not an easy feat. This summer, Abtan was contacted by Samsung and commissioned to create this series and design custom frames for many of the pieces. “I had a good month to work on it,” Abtan explains. “It was tough but there was a lot of support that I was getting that I’m very grateful for. A month and a half of planning, meetings, discussing, and then creating.”
For Samsung and Abtan, The Well provided an accessible and exiting way for locals to naturally see the Re:Frame installation. Since last year, The Well has become a popular hotspot that has hit a sort of virality online. Thus, Samsung Canada took advantage of it. “I’m so grateful to experience all of this, Abtan says. “It’s my first ever exhibit. I’m very grateful I could work with them. The craziest thing has been seeing random people walk by and stop to take a picture. I don’t know why that specifically, but it’s just crazy to see that other people wanted to save that moment.”
[This interview was edited for clarity and length]
