RENO, NV.- Nevada Museum of Art presents internationally-renowned artist Leo Villareal, who will lead participants through the nature of light and the unique experience of his dynamic, immersive light sculptures and installations. On view from March 5, 2011 through May 22, 2011.
Leo Villareal is the most prominent light sculptor of his generation. In 1997, he abandoned his work with interactive television and began creating sculptures in which he combined strobe lights, neon, and most recently, LED bulbs activated by the artists own custom-made software.
The magic of Villareals work lies in its sequencing. Thousands of tiny white LEDs may resemble a starry night as seen in a planetarium, while tubes of colored LEDs masked by a diffuser are like a Monet painting of water lilies set in motion.
His hypnotic and exhilarating light sculptures will be appreciated by both the young and old, experienced and inexperienced art viewers, students of both the arts and sciences, and engineers who will be tempted to analyze the artists algorithms.
In 1994, Villareal first attended the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert. This experience influenced him greatly, and gradually led him to direct his attention towards creating immersive experiences that could be enjoyed on a larger scale.
This is the first museum survey of the groundbreaking work of Villareal, whose stunning manipulations of light and color are internationally renowned.