Ethereal New Sculptural Installation Plays with Color & Light

On view now through April 11, 2010 in the lower lobby near the Wexner Center’s café: a new sculptural installation by Brooklyn-based artist Alyson Shotz, titled Standing Wave. Commissioned by the Wexner Center, the work—made of an acrylic material that reflects and refracts color and light—continues Shotz’s interests in the principles of physics, as well as in the intersection between technology and the environment. The premise for the work comes from the theory of standing waves, which remain in a constant position.

Measuring approximately 8 feet high and 29 feet long, Standing Wave features long strips of the acrylic material, attached to and jutting out from the wall, that seem to undulate with color and light. “The dichroic film is clear, however, it transmits certain wavelengths of light while reflecting others...I am interested in creating an experience that changes the view in some way if that’s possible, that allows them to have a shift in perception of space, physicality, light...” says Shotz.

Shotz’s work has been exhibited at numerous galleries and museums, including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (Mass MOCA), San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, and the Cleveland Museum of Art. Shotz (b. 1964) received her BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and her MFA from the University of Washington, Seattle. She lives and works in Brooklyn.

The installation is on display during normal building hours: Monday–Wednesday 8 am–6 pm; Thursday 8 am–8 pm; Saturday 10 am–8 pm; and Sunday 11 am–6 pm. Admission is free. The exhibition was organized by the Wexner Center’s curator of exhibitions, Christopher Bedford.

EXHIBITION SUPPORT

All Wexner Center exhibitions and related events receive support from the Corporate Annual Fund of the Wexner Center Foundation and Wexner Center members, as well as Greater Columbus Arts Council, The Columbus Foundation, Nationwide Foundation, and the Ohio Arts Council. Accommodations are provided by The Blackwell Inn.