Sat 9/21-2/9/2025
In the Akron Art Museum’s new show Glow: Neon and Light, the feature arts use reflective materials and lighting — glass, mirrors, light bulbs, neon tubes, even old VHS tape cassettes — to produce their sculptural installations. Neon is used not to create words, as in commercial and many artistic settings but to focus on light’s 3D properties. The work in the show immerses visitors in a world of light emanating from the walls, floors and ceilings.
We’re also told that “The exhibit will share information about light’s scientific properties, such as the chemical elements involved and how it illuminates within electrified glass tubes. It aims to address how color affects perceptions and experiences of the viewer, and how interpretations may shift when the neon lights are shown in a gallery space versus in urban spaces. Each artwork will include light elements and concepts, but visual styles will vary.”
Among the artists in the show are Sarah Blood, Jeffry Chiplis, Mona Hatoum, Keith Lemley, Iván Navarro and Keith Sonnier. Those will “high sensory needs” such as epilepsy are advised to beware: the exhibit includes loud sounds and flashing lights.
It will be on view through February 5, 2025.
akronartmuseum/glow-neon-and-light/