Paths of Light
A Sculptural Exploration of Color and Light
Light. Color. Translucence. Refraction. Transparency. Shadow. Transformation. Pattern. Illumination. Form.
Humans are attuned to the interactions of light with material. This exhibit focuses on sculptures that explore and highlight these interactions and how we perceive them. How far do the paths of light reach into our minds and emotions? The artwork of both Andrea Loomis and Larry Akers shares not only this common exploration; their work also shares a grounding in science and mathematics. Their visual language is based on a kinetic relationship between light, the art objects that make light visible, and the viewer. Glass, metal, and acrylic materials bend, shape, color, filter, and arrange light into images of powerful expression and fascinatin g geometry. Andrea’s kiln-formed glass work focuses on the emotional strength of light. Her abstract sculptures are colorful and organic; they form relationships with their shadows. The dynamics of light and color, shape and shadow create intriguing moments of interplay between stillness and activity. This effect is heightened by the paradoxical delicacy and strength of the material itself, and reflects the connection between our inner and outer worlds. Larry's artworks in patterned metal materials and illumination generate highly kinetic moire effects that respond to a viewer's movements and shifts of focus. They invite interaction, posing questions about geometry and the very nature of visual perception. A series of his layered works replace typical framing glass with arrays of acrylic bars that transform background patterns. In small pieces, this creates a three-dimensional palette of surprising depth and activity. In larger pieces the acrylic refracts simple geometric tessellations into complex re-representations. Many of the pieces shown are fresh from his recent exhibition at the Museum of Geometric and MADI Art in Dallas.
Paths of Light
Subliminals
Transformations
Transformations
When I started working on the Subliminals series, I had a concept and very specific plans. I took those plans as far as I could. I challenged the material; a lot of the pieces broke.
The process of creating this series became a metaphor for going forward in life in 2022: We plan, but we cannot plan it to the end. Ultimately, we need to move step by step, responding to what is emerging, while keeping sight of our ideals an,d vision.
Transformations
Transformations
Transformations
This creative development of this series began with my discovery of the Ensō circle. I invoke the spirit of the Ensō circle as I pick up some glass powder and brushes. Every piece of Transformations starts by creating an open circle using varying techniques. Those “brushstrokes” then go through several firings. After several hours of being alone with the pieces, aligning what I see and have in my hands, a conversation of matter and mind lead to a setup and shaping the circle into its final expression.
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Delicate Diversity
Surreal Expressionism
Surreal Expressionism
Delicate Diversity 2022
Five years later, another strongman rattles the world by starting a war. This war is like all other wars: the complete disregard of human life, any ethics, and the environment by choosing destruction before dialog, choosing pressure before reasoning and patience. Delicate Diversity‘s plea for thoughtful, empathetic dialog and it’s invitation to shared conversation stands relevant. In Delicate Diversity, forms talk and dance and celebrate. They support each other, protecting each other's fragility. Their differences become discovered, mutual strengths.
Surreal Expressionism
Surreal Expressionism
Surreal Expressionism
At the beginning of 2020 - like so many - I found myself halted, thrown off the tracks of a “normal” life. Invisible walls severed connections to the people outside my very immediate inner circle; all movement seemed to be suspended for the time being. Life itself took on a surreal quality. In the following months of processing and adjusting, key elements of life crystallized for me. My work that year was about those elements: relationships and movement. '