Leo Villareal

  Leo Villareal is a contemporary digital light artist whose work can be seen in numerous cities all over the world.  He has been commissioned to do both temporary and permanent exhibits in various museums such as the MoMa in New York and the National Gallery of Art in D.C.  He typically works in a large-scale format using LED lights which are controlled by both software and hardware systems.  Villareal’s use of light in his projects is uniquely based on patterns and movement, which he uses to create a spectacular event.  His work has been described as hypnotic by observers as the digital light forms abstract moving configurations.  Light to Villareal is more than just something that illuminates.  His projects are about experiencing the event of light in motion through time, and he uses light to frame and create spaces. According to Villareal as told to CNET news in an interview, “My work explores not only on the physical but adds the dimension of time combining both spatial and temporal resolution.  My forms move, change, interact and ultimately glow into complex organisms.”   Although Villareal’s work is formally unique in the shimmering effect it has on its environment, he could be compared to light artist James Turrell, as his work is also concerned with both light and space, despite the difference in the visual effects.  Overall, Villareal’s  art is incredibly special from an observational standpoint as the observer becomes completely engaged  in the movement and effect of the illumination, and his work is meant to be witnessed over a period of time in order to fully see his use of pattern in the LED lights.  

Concourse Walkway in the National Gallery of Art on D.C.

Devils Playground

 

 

 

 

 

  www.villareal.net
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-20017310-52.html?tag=mncol;1n  
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/leo-villareal/the-essence-of-light-thir_b_720351.html#s141416