Upgrade Your Wall With This Connected Canvas

The days of relegating yourself to static wall art are over.
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If you’ve ever lingered in front of a canvas and wished it could somehow speak to you, then Soundwall may be the answer you’ve been looking for. Each aluminum canvas operates as a Wi-Fi connected speaker, enabling the printed image to pipe everything from sound effects to music to interviews with the artist. Adding an aural dimension to artwork opens up what is possible in both public and private galleries: one can imagine a photo series that immerses the room in harmonic sound, or a bedroom installation that plays white noise to help you sleep.

Spas Roussev is the Bulgarian entrepreneur, investor, and art collector behind Soundwall. "As soon as I saw how the technology worked I got very excited by the thought of artists and photographers being able to express themselves in this way," he said in an interview with GQ. "You can tell stories and you can give much more emotion to the pictures. Also, because it is Wi-Fi-based, the artists stay connected with the collectors. They can change the story; they can add something to the story; they can send a message. This is how art will be in the future."

Spas Roussev is the Bulgarian entrepreneur, investor, and art collector behind Soundwall. "As soon as I saw how the technology worked I got very excited by the thought of artists and photographers being able to express themselves in this way," he said in an interview with GQ. "You can tell stories and you can give much more emotion to the pictures. Also, because it is Wi-Fi-based, the artists stay connected with the collectors. They can change the story; they can add something to the story; they can send a message. This is how art will be in the future."

Through Soundwall’s artist collaborations, consumers can purchase a fine art canvas that comes with exclusive content: artist-curated playlists, original compositions, interviews, podcasts. Users can find this under Play Art in the Soundwall App for iOS, or they can switch to the Play Music mode and wirelessly stream music from their favorite services. The flexibility and dynamism of the canvas allows users to curate a distinct experience for virtually any venue, whether that be educational, meditative, social, motivational—or all of the above.

There is no hidden speaker with the Soundwall canvas. Thanks to Distributed Mode Loading technology, the entire surface emits crisp, high fidelity sound for a deeply involving audiovisual experience.

There is no hidden speaker with the Soundwall canvas. Thanks to Distributed Mode Loading technology, the entire surface emits crisp, high fidelity sound for a deeply involving audiovisual experience.

In 2015, the multimedia artist Bisco Smith, whose work is pictured above, showed paintings he created in partnership with Soundwall in an exhibition entitled "12." Each one is a visual representation of a beat he composed.

In 2015, the multimedia artist Bisco Smith, whose work is pictured above, showed paintings he created in partnership with Soundwall in an exhibition entitled "12." Each one is a visual representation of a beat he composed.

The canvas comes in four sizes: 24" x 24", 24" x 36", 36" x 36", and 36" x 48". Soundwall also honors custom orders in size and material and allows you to upload your own images.

The canvas comes in four sizes: 24" x 24", 24" x 36", 36" x 36", and 36" x 48". Soundwall also honors custom orders in size and material and allows you to upload your own images.

Visit Soundwall online to learn more about the technology.

Jenny Xie
Dwell Contributor
Jenny Xie is the author of the novel Holding Pattern, a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 Honoree. She’s received fellowships from Bread Loaf, Yaddo, and MacDowell, among other organizations.

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