By Cansu Waldron

I went to see SUBMERGE: Beyond the Render at ARTECHOUSE on Friday. The experience unfolds beneath Chelsea Market in this enormous, dark room where digital art surrounds you from every direction — it’s the kind of place that makes you forget you’re in New York for a while.

ARTECHOUSE, if you’ve never been, is one of the best places in New York City to experience digital art in full immersion. It was the first art space in the U.S. dedicated exclusively to digital work, and since transforming a 100-year-old boiler room in 2019, it’s become a hub where technology, science, and creativity constantly collide.

SUBMERGE is an exhibition series that invites audiences to dive into the world of digital art — literally. This is the second edition of SUBMERGE, and it’s powered by Render Network, a decentralized GPU platform that allows artists to create massive, hyper-detailed works at 18K resolution – something that would normally take months to render. It’s the largest digital art show ever created on a blockchain-based network.

In plain terms: artists get the computing power of major studios, but they can create independently, which is crucial to supporting independent digital artists from all backgrounds.

Inside, each short film takes over the walls and floor, wrapping you in sound, light, and motion. They are all around three minutes long, and while some pieces are slow and meditative, others pulse with techno beats and light bursts that engulf you in an interstellar travel.

Here’s what you’ll experience inside:

LATTICE by Mhx

The show opens with LATTICE, an abstract, architectural dream that feels like thought itself taking shape. Istanbul-based artist Mhx (Muhammet Altun) builds fragile yet interconnected forms — semi-formed lattices that resemble ideas trying to become real. It’s meditative, delicate, and mesmerizing to watch these shimmering threads knit themselves into being. Mhx is a self-taught artist who explores the fragility and beauty of generative systems, and his work here feels both human and algorithmic.

1685: Immersive by David Ariew & Chelsea Evenstar featuring music by Zedd

Then, the mood shifts dramatically. 1685: Immersive transforms ARTECHOUSE into a cosmic cathedral of light and sound. Originally created for Zedd’s Coachella performance, this collaboration with artists David Ariew and Chelsea Evenstar turns those visuals into a full-scale experience. Think vast stained-glass windows of light, comets, and galaxies synchronized perfectly with Zedd’s music. It’s euphoric—like standing inside a rave that somehow feels spiritual.

Ariew, known for his hypnotic mirror-like geometries, and Evenstar, who brings a celestial emotional depth to digital art, make a perfect team. Together they build a space that’s pure joy to be inside.

White Rabbit: Immersive Adaptation by Maciej Kuciara & Emily Yang (pplpleasr)

Fans of anime will recognize White Rabbit, the Emmy-winning film co-directed by Maciej Kuciara and Emily Yang, better known as pplpleasr. Here, they reimagine it for the immersive canvas, rendering dreamlike memories at 18K detail. You step inside scenes that feel like lucid dreams — floating between animation and cinema.

Kuciara, a concept artist behind The Last of Us and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, brings cinematic storytelling, while Yang, a technologist and co-founder of Shibuya, brings a sharp cultural vision rooted in anime and identity. Together, they’ve created something poetic and otherworldly.

Protopica: Sin Agua No Hay Tiempo by Will Selviz & Manuel Sainsily

Next comes Protopica, an exploration of Caribbean heritage through immersive worldbuilding. The piece feels like walking inside a myth — petroglyphs ripple across walls, water flows in slow motion, and ancestral symbols glow like constellations.

Artists Will Selviz and Manuel Sainsily blend emerging tech with storytelling traditions, imagining the Caribbean as both past and future. It’s a reminder, as the title says, that “without water, there is no time.” This one felt deeply grounding; meditative and spiritual.

Cycle Reset by Jess Wiseman

In Cycle Reset, the everyday becomes surreal. It starts in a laundromat, then suddenly, a robot wakes up, and you’re pulled into a cascade of strange transformations. Before long, you find yourself inside a microwave surrounded by popcorn bursting like fireworks.

At just 24, Jess Wiseman already has a strong visual language that merges design, product, and play. Her work feels like a daydream you can’t quite shake off — a reminder that digital art can be both funny and profound.

Gravity Tomb by Saad Moosajee

This one slowed me down. Gravity Tomb unfolds like a digital sculpture suspended in time — a piece that feels physical even though it’s pure light. Brooklyn-based artist Saad Moosajee combines cinematic rendering with classical motifs, creating a contemplative, almost sacred experience. It’s a meditation on material and memory, and one of the more emotional moments in the show.

Nebula Junkyard by Woosung Kang (VJ WOO)

Suddenly, the tempo picks up again. Nebula Junkyard is pure visual chaos in the best way. Los Angeles artist Woosung Kang, also known as VJ WOO, transforms the space into a cosmic music video, with objects scattering and reforming in rhythm with the sound. It’s like stepping into a live VJ set happening inside a nebula.

Kang, who has worked with ODESZA and Apple’s Vision Pro team, describes it as both a performance and a self-portrait.

The River Remembers by Blake Kathryn & Maalavidaa

If I had to pick a favorite, this might be it. The River Remembers is a dreamscape glowing in color and femininity — a blend of Blake Kathryn’s glossy pastel architectures and Maalavidaa’s swirling emotional abstractions. It’s lush, radiant, and soothing, but also quietly powerful.

The piece feels like a rebellion against sterile digital aesthetics — a space where softness and strength coexist. It’s about emotion, identity, and the beauty of simply being.

Satori by Josh Pierce

In Satori, artist Josh Pierce takes viewers through glowing valleys of light designed to evoke mindfulness and gratitude. It’s a slow digital landscape that feels alive. Pierce’s work often explores spirituality through technology, and this one captures that perfectly.

The Adventures of the Toy Maker by Amrit Pal Singh

This piece shifts the tone again; playful, nostalgic, and full of heart. Amrit Pal Singh, known for his Toy Faces series, brings his toy-like worlds into full immersion. Each scene feels handcrafted with care, inviting you to see through the eyes of a child again. It’s delightful, comforting, and a reminder that wonder is a creative force too.

INFINITE FIELD// by Fvckrender (Frédéric Duquette)

Montreal’s Fvckrender presents INFINITE FIELD//, a crystalline, futuristic environment that feels like stepping into a mind made of light. His work has always blended therapy and technology by turning emotion into sculpted geometry and this one captures that balance perfectly.

Wingin’ It by Gavin Shapiro

The final piece, Wingin’ It, ends the exhibition on a note of humor and joy. Flamingos and penguins perform absurd acts inside a fictional museum, think performance art meets dance party. Gavin Shapiro’s goal is simple: to make people smile. And it works.

If you’re in New York, ARTECHOUSE (439 West 15th Street, inside Chelsea Market) is an excellent place to lose yourself for an hour. Tickets start at $24.50, with discounts for students and seniors.

Experience Submerge and let us know your thoughts!