36 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • DECEMBER 17, 2020 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Mood-boosting light exhibition elevates art
to another dimension in Long Island City
BY TAMMY SCILEPPI
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
Let there be light!
Several fearless New York area artists —
their collective creative juices fl owing —
have elevated art to another dimension and
pushed their limits of creativity far beyond
what some would describe as conventional
comfort zones. Th ese highly imaginative
makers have been busy conjuring up eyecatching
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 Th e 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. Th eir
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 diff erent 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.
“Th e mediums vary widely,” he continued.
“Th ere are numerous digital projections and
mapping, but also neon, stereoscopic sculpture,
glowing strontium aluminate pigments,
kinetic lumia sculpture and many diff erent
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 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. Th e
exhibit showcases the diversity of technologies,
concepts and narratives being used in
contemporary art today.
In the artists’ must-see-to-believe masterpieces,
light is deconstructed, shaped and
streamed. Th ey 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. Th e
skin is barely recognizable in the resulting
kaleidoscopic display, but the movement and
fl uctuations of light are still there.”
Sims believes that working in light provides
artists with a special advantage.
“Th ey 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 fi nd
the edges of these mediums and to distort
and skew our expectations of what they can
accomplish, oft en by adding layers of material
between the image and our optic nerve.
Th is 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
refl ect and transmit photons into new forms
(Nooshin Rostami).”
Sims, who currently maintains a studio
space as a long-term 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
amplifi es 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
Photos courtesy of The Plaxall Gallery
for hope.”
Th ere 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. Th ey are available at the gallery
or by sending your mailing address to
3DNSA@OPTONLINE.NET.
Th e “EDGE OF LIGHT” exhibit runs
on Th ursdays, Saturdays and Sundays
from 5 until 9 p.m.
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