Mood-boosting light exhibition elevates art
to another dimension in Long Island City
BY TAMMY SCILEPPI
Let there be light!
Several fearless New York
area artists — their collective
creative juices flowing — have
elevated art to another dimension
and pushed their limits
of creativity far beyond what
some would describe as conventional
comfort zones. These
highly imaginative makers
have been busy conjuring up
eye-catching installations that
experiment with light as a
material and medium.
So, if you’re feeling on edge,
take a breather and experience
their wondrous, moodboosting
works, on view now
through Dec. 27, 2020, at the
HoloCenter’s current exhibition,
“EDGE OF LIGHT,” at
The Plaxall Gallery in Long
Island City. Virtual viewing
will remain online beyond that
date.
Inspiring and educating
with workshops that combine
art, science and technology,
the HoloCenter presents exhibitions
of art holograms, light
art and spatial media. Their
experimental media residencies
and pulse laser holography
programs support artistic experimentation
and production.
“When we listed the open
call, my hope was to exhibit
a variety of methods, mediums
and materials, but as the
show progressed I began to
see different themes emerge,”
said curator Jonathan Sims,
a Queens-based visual artist
whose practice uses light and
geometry to reveal emotional
and spiritual truths about
humanity.
“The mediums vary widely,”
he continued. “There are
numerous digital projections
and mapping, but also neon,
stereoscopic sculpture, glowing
strontium aluminate pigments,
kinetic lumia sculpture
and many different manipulations
of these technologies.”
All illumination will emanate
from the art forms within
a dark gallery.
“EDGE OF LIGHT” commissioned
12 installations
(sculptural projections have
been created onsite) that make
use of a dark space gallery
in which traditional forms of
gallery lighting are switched
An installation of found optical objects combined with video projections at the HoloCenter exhibition EDGE OF LIGHT, curated by
Jonathan Sims, at The Plaxall Gallery in Long Island City. Photo courtesy of The Plaxall Gallery
off. What is revealed is an unexpected,
self-illuminating
exhibition that highlights the
unique individual visions of
artists who work with light
as a primary element of their
practice. The exhibit showcases
the diversity of technologies,
concepts and narratives being
used in contemporary art
today.
In the artists’ must-see-tobelieve
masterpieces, light is
deconstructed, shaped and
streamed. They combine digital
and optical manipulation
with precision-made and found
objects.
In his installation titled
“BORDERLANDS,” Holz examines
his own skin under the
scanning electron microscope.
In his artist statement, he explains
the meaning behind his
work: “My skin is my boundary,
and through light and
distortion I am blending these
images with the nonhuman
insect eye. The skin is barely
recognizable in the resulting
kaleidoscopic display, but the
movement and fluctuations of
light are still there.”
Sims believes that working
in light provides artists with a
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.2 COM | DEC. 18-DEC. 24, 2020
special advantage.
“They can synthesize the
historically mature language
of the visual arts using fresh
mediums that are intrinsically
able to express the most present
time,” Sims told QNS. “It is innate
for artists to try to find the
edges of these mediums and to
distort and skew our expectations
of what they can accomplish,
often by adding layers
of material between the image
and our optic nerve. This could
take the form layers of light
itself (Ed Bear), of anaglyph
red-blue gels that explore the
sculptural dimensionality of
shadows (Blinn & Lambert), or
suspended magnifying lenses
that relay and bend rays of
light (Jess Holz). It could also
be in the subtle video feedback
of a camera catching the light
from a digital projection (Rita
Jimenez), or the kinetic layering
of surfaces that both reflect
and transmit photons into new
forms (Nooshin Rostami).”
Sims, who currently maintains
a studio space as a longterm
resident at Flux Factory
in Long Island City, has mostly
exhibited in New York City, but
began his arts career in San
Antonio, Texas, as a painter.
He transitioned into digital
projection installation, but his
work began to center more on
the nature of light itself.
“EDGE OF LIGHT” is Sims’
third and largest curatorial endeavor,
and the second to focus
on artists working in light.
“Light can also be a medium
that amplifies our attention
and enhances the
message,” he explained. “It
can newly engage ecological
or political messages that are
hyper local (Emily Andersen
and Kamari Carter & Julian
Day), or use subtle light and
imagery to create a scope wide
enough to address the extreme
scale of global environmental
issues (Shohei Katayama).
Light can create stunning illusions
(Evan Voelbel), convey
the glowing sculptural beauty
of the natural world (Emma
Hendry), or be a channel that
can compress huge distances
into sudden intimacies (Rachel
Guardiola).”
Despite New York’s ongoing
challenges, local creatives and
makers have never given up
or stopped creating. And their
audiences are surely grateful
for that!
“I feel very lucky to be a part
of this show, and proud in helping
create a forum for these
remarkable artists,” Sims
shared. “Right now, it might
be a little too easy, and far too
soon, to build an allegory of
light emerging from darkness
– but it is never the wrong moment
to look for hope.”
There is light at the end of
the tunnel.
On Dec. 19, at 2:30 p.m., you
can learn about stereoscopic
art, and don’t miss an interview
with the artists Blinn & Lambert
(Nicholas Steindorf and
Kyle Williams) about their installation
“NNAATTUURRAA
MMOORRTTAA” in the exhibition.
Carlton Bright shares
3-D imagery of the work and interviews
the artists about their
collaboration to experiment
with stereography. To view
in 3-D you will need anaglyph
(red-blue) glasses. They are
available at the gallery or by
sending your mailing address
to 3DNSA@OPTONLINE.NET.
The “EDGE OF LIGHT”
exhibit runs on Thursdays,
Saturdays and Sundays from 5
until 9 p.m.
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