Phantom Galleries LA
Susan Chorpenning's art installation "Fiat Lux III"
Los Angeles, CA, January 12, 2008 -
Phantom Galleries LA has become known for transforming unsightly empty storefronts into vibrant and culturally exciting art experiences from Beverly Hills to Pasadena. PGLA is proud to announce a partnership with the Long Beach Redevelopment Agency in presenting their inaugural Long Beach exhibit, Susan Chorpenning's window installation "Fiat Lux III." Curated by Dangerous Curve.
Location: 248 Pine Ave, Long Beach, CA 90802
Exhibit runs: January 12 to March 12, 2008.
Viewable 24/7 with optimal viewing hours between 5 pm - 1 am.
Gallery Hours by appointment only.
Reception for the artist TBA.
"Fiat Lux" means "Let There be Light." Chorpenning means to light up
the darkest days and longest nights of the year. If you've not seen
one of Susan Chorpenning's twinkling light window displays, you've not
had a true urban winter-wonderland experience! Her last PGLA
installation, "Fiat Lux II," was like a holiday mega-display, with the
lights painstakingly intertwined and loaded on until they filled the
whole window. From afar, the window seemed to hover in front of its
pane of glass. Up close, one's whole field of vision was engulfed.
The effect was invigorating exuberance.
"Fiat Lux III" is more subdued than was "Fiat Lux 2," its lights
restrained (if only slightly) and elegant. It fills the two windows to the left and
right of the location's main doorway. The walls are painted
bright colors with added blocks of color behind some light elements. These light elements come in a variety of shapes and sizes, such as twinkling globes, mini-lava lamps, colored compact fluorescents, and tiny, twinkling, multicolored lights mounted on frames. Using stretcher bars throughout - but instead of being the structure for paintings, they are the structure for lights - eg. strings of lights wrapped around the stretcher bars, and variations on this theme. These "frames" are the most recurrent image in the piece. More subtle it is, but indeed still a beautiful sensory enterprise.
More about the Artist
Chorpenning suechor/myhomepage/index.html
is from Altadena, via New York and Europe. She has had numerous solo
shows and siteworks in galleries and museums, nationally in New York,
the San Francisco Bay Area, Texas, and internationally in Paris,
France, and Germany. She has performed to rave reviews at Dixon
Place, The Knitting Factory, BACA, The Painted Bride, and Claremont
College.
Among other things, Chorpenning does so-called "dark rooms," chairs
with flash units and light-sensitive rocks. All these
things use afterimages (from phosphorescent paint or flash units that
leave traces on one's retina to mimic memory perceptions. The "memories" can build up and overlap, and sometimes interact and overwrite each other.
Chorpenning's solo show at Dangerous Curve in 2004 was one of her
"light room" installations. In these, she uses paint on walls and
floors to record "memories" of constantly moving sunlight streaming in
through doors, windows, and skylights throughout a given day. All
Chorpenning's past light rooms have been records of sunlight as it
actually came into the rooms, but in "February Thirtieth," the
sunlight was completely fabricated for a completely fabricated day.
Chorpenning has noted that light traces left from another part of a
day can have a surprising psychological effect, causing the viewer to
perceive enhanced brightness in a room without really understanding
why. Imagine the effect in a room that, facing north, doesn't have any
direct sunlight at all. The space at Dangerous Curve is such a room,
and the effect of Chorpenning's multicolored trace records was
profound.
More about the Presenters
Phantom Galleries LA PhantomGalleriesLA.com is a Los Angeles County based organization that transforms properties in transition into 24/7 public art galleries. Each installation is a unique relationship between the participating Artist, Curator, and Property Owner. Exhibits are curated by local Arts Organizations, Galleries, Independent Curators, and Artists. The project gives local artists an opportunity to exhibit their work, while fostering economic development by drawing attention to available retail space. PGLA promotes the creative communities of Los Angeles to a broader audience and encourages the appreciation and participation in the arts among community members and organizations creating a win/ win situation that benefits the entire community as a whole. Art is a necessary part of everyday life.
Dangerous Curve dangerouscurve.org is a leading
contemporary art space in the Arts District of Los Angeles that
supports risky and intelligent work that's ahead of the curve.
The Long Beach Redevelopment Agency works to build a better Long Beach. For more information about Long Beach contact: rda.longbeach.gov
photo by americanimagegallery.com
Susan Chorpenning's art installation "Fiat Lux III"
Los Angeles, CA, January 12, 2008 -
Phantom Galleries LA has become known for transforming unsightly empty storefronts into vibrant and culturally exciting art experiences from Beverly Hills to Pasadena. PGLA is proud to announce a partnership with the Long Beach Redevelopment Agency in presenting their inaugural Long Beach exhibit, Susan Chorpenning's window installation "Fiat Lux III." Curated by Dangerous Curve.
Location: 248 Pine Ave, Long Beach, CA 90802
Exhibit runs: January 12 to March 12, 2008.
Viewable 24/7 with optimal viewing hours between 5 pm - 1 am.
Gallery Hours by appointment only.
Reception for the artist TBA.
"Fiat Lux" means "Let There be Light." Chorpenning means to light up
the darkest days and longest nights of the year. If you've not seen
one of Susan Chorpenning's twinkling light window displays, you've not
had a true urban winter-wonderland experience! Her last PGLA
installation, "Fiat Lux II," was like a holiday mega-display, with the
lights painstakingly intertwined and loaded on until they filled the
whole window. From afar, the window seemed to hover in front of its
pane of glass. Up close, one's whole field of vision was engulfed.
The effect was invigorating exuberance.
"Fiat Lux III" is more subdued than was "Fiat Lux 2," its lights
restrained (if only slightly) and elegant. It fills the two windows to the left and
right of the location's main doorway. The walls are painted
bright colors with added blocks of color behind some light elements. These light elements come in a variety of shapes and sizes, such as twinkling globes, mini-lava lamps, colored compact fluorescents, and tiny, twinkling, multicolored lights mounted on frames. Using stretcher bars throughout - but instead of being the structure for paintings, they are the structure for lights - eg. strings of lights wrapped around the stretcher bars, and variations on this theme. These "frames" are the most recurrent image in the piece. More subtle it is, but indeed still a beautiful sensory enterprise.
More about the Artist
Chorpenning suechor/myhomepage/index.html
is from Altadena, via New York and Europe. She has had numerous solo
shows and siteworks in galleries and museums, nationally in New York,
the San Francisco Bay Area, Texas, and internationally in Paris,
France, and Germany. She has performed to rave reviews at Dixon
Place, The Knitting Factory, BACA, The Painted Bride, and Claremont
College.
Among other things, Chorpenning does so-called "dark rooms," chairs
with flash units and light-sensitive rocks. All these
things use afterimages (from phosphorescent paint or flash units that
leave traces on one's retina to mimic memory perceptions. The "memories" can build up and overlap, and sometimes interact and overwrite each other.
Chorpenning's solo show at Dangerous Curve in 2004 was one of her
"light room" installations. In these, she uses paint on walls and
floors to record "memories" of constantly moving sunlight streaming in
through doors, windows, and skylights throughout a given day. All
Chorpenning's past light rooms have been records of sunlight as it
actually came into the rooms, but in "February Thirtieth," the
sunlight was completely fabricated for a completely fabricated day.
Chorpenning has noted that light traces left from another part of a
day can have a surprising psychological effect, causing the viewer to
perceive enhanced brightness in a room without really understanding
why. Imagine the effect in a room that, facing north, doesn't have any
direct sunlight at all. The space at Dangerous Curve is such a room,
and the effect of Chorpenning's multicolored trace records was
profound.
More about the Presenters
Phantom Galleries LA PhantomGalleriesLA.com is a Los Angeles County based organization that transforms properties in transition into 24/7 public art galleries. Each installation is a unique relationship between the participating Artist, Curator, and Property Owner. Exhibits are curated by local Arts Organizations, Galleries, Independent Curators, and Artists. The project gives local artists an opportunity to exhibit their work, while fostering economic development by drawing attention to available retail space. PGLA promotes the creative communities of Los Angeles to a broader audience and encourages the appreciation and participation in the arts among community members and organizations creating a win/ win situation that benefits the entire community as a whole. Art is a necessary part of everyday life.
Dangerous Curve dangerouscurve.org is a leading
contemporary art space in the Arts District of Los Angeles that
supports risky and intelligent work that's ahead of the curve.
The Long Beach Redevelopment Agency works to build a better Long Beach. For more information about Long Beach contact: rda.longbeach.gov
photo by americanimagegallery.com