Happen to be in London? An exciting new exhibition opens to the public today, January 30, and runs through April 28 at London’s Hayward Gallery. Light Show features 25 illuminated installations and sculptures that date back from the 1960s to the present day. Many of the artworks have not been seen in public in decades and have been recreated specifically for this Hayward Gallery show.
The exhibition is all about light art and it’s the very first survey of “light-based art” in the UK. Among the 22 exhibiting artists are heavy hitters like Olafur Eliasson, James Turrell, Dan Flavin and Leo Villareal who each bring their own, cutting-edge interpretation of what light art means.
Eliasson’s installation, which has never been seen in the UK, is made up of 27 fountains that are illuminated by strobe lights. Called Model for a Timeless Garden, it consists of water droplets that look like they’re magically frozen in mid-air.
Artist Leo Villareal, who must have his hands full with his upcoming installation The Bay Lights, is displaying Cylinder II, a tower consisting of 19,600 white programmable LED lights. According to the artist, the lights create ever-changing patterns that evoke “meteor showers, falling snow, clouds of fireflies and other natural phenomena.”
You can read more about Light Show at London Evening Standard, who’ve called it “the first of this year’s must-see shows,” The Guardian who writes that it’s a “dazzling, frazzling light show [that] takes visitors to the moon,” and finally The Londonist who describes it as “a mesmeric and brilliantly entertaining exhibition.” Their review ends with the powerful statement: “Cynics might see this as a show full of clever gimmicks but we challenge anyone to visit and not be overawed by the powerful works on display. 2013 has only just begun but this exhibition has thrown down the gauntlet. It will take something very special to top it.”
