Lucent: The Art of Light

James Turrell once said "light is not so much something that reveals, as it is itself the revelation."

This quote has stuck with me so much so that I used it as the introduction to my MFA thesis, and again six years later as the inspiration for this exhibition.

Light reveals everything we see in this world. It shapes our reality, colors our world, and affects our entire being. In this exhibition I didn't just want to use light to reveal artworks, I wanted the artworks to reveal light. Whether symbolically, metaphorically, or literally. And the artists brought all of the above!

I want to first thank all the artists who applied, as I know entering juried shows takes courage and tenacity. There were so many fantastic entries, I could have created a good show ten times over. I (begrudgingly) narrowed my selections down to what could comfortably fit in the gallery space, which ended up being 25 works.

The works you see in Lucent encompass light in many ways, both quiet and overt. I was drawn to the everyday subtlety of Diana Fair’s luminous bell peppers glowing in kitchen sunlight. The mesmerizing flutter of Frank Geiser’s projection. The poignant commentary of Maya Ferazandi’s “Engage”. The sense of motion captured so eloquently in pen by Christopher Ganz that his drawing of Ponte Vecchio feels more real than any photograph.

Since everything we see is due to light, I find it so fascinating to see exactly what moment of light an artist chooses to capture. To take such an ephemeral experience and bring it permanence tells a lot about a person and what they feel holds significance. Whether that be an everyday moment captured, or an imagined design brought to fruition. My hope is that viewers will experience each of these works and perhaps leave with a heightened awareness of the small moments that feel significant to them.

Participating Artists

Aleksy Cisowski, Elena Behrakis, Madelynn Dickerson, Daniel Dienelt, Diana Fair, Maya Ferzandi, Christopher Ganz, Frank Geiser, Janet Hansen, Julie Harris, Mattew Hogan, John Howard, Lucille Mann, Bridget O’Brien, David Ondrik, Joshua H. Phelps, Benjaman Pilat, Dena Robertson, Diane Staver, Jay Tracy, Mary Watkins, and Gina Wolfrum.

About the Juror

Ellen is a Fort Wayne based artist, curator and educator. She has a BFA in painting from Indiana University and MFA in two-dimensional studies from Bowling Green State University. Ellen has managed the exhibitions and educational programming at Artlink for over 6 years, and had several years of gallery management experience prior. She has taught visual arts courses at Bowling Green State, Purdue Fort Wayne and Saint Francis University.