The Earthshine series visualizes the sun’s rays reflecting off the earth to mark its significance in art, life, and death. Light is key to life on earth while in the age of the Anthropocene, light shows its destructive potential. Earthshine joins the history of art that portrays sun rays as a symbol of life, energy, and enlightenment.
Images:
1 Earthshine, Refract 2024 stainless steel, brass 86 x 24 x 24”
2. Earthshine, Hotspot 2022 Installed at the Oeno Gallery Sculpture Garden, stainless steel, brass 118 x 60 x 32” Photo: Oeno Gallery
3. Earthshine, Specular 2021 installed at the Oeno Gallery Sculpture Garden, stainless steel, brass 83 H x 48 W x 16 D inches Photos courtesy of Oeno Gallery
4. Earthshine model 2021 brass on black soapstone base 9.5” H x 5.5”W x 5”D
Project: Ottawa Residence Interior design: 2H Interiors Art Advisory: Mason Lane Photography: Kevin Belanger Commissioned Artwork: Chrome Loops Materials: chrome plated stainless steel Dimensions: 54 x 74 x 52 inches Year: 2021
Chrome Loops is a suspended sculpture installation comprised of five infinity loops made with chrome plated stainless steel. The client wanted an artwork that drew the eye outward to the beautiful landscape beyond, which is subtly reflected in the chrome finish, while also tying all the natural materials used within the home together. The project came together by working closely with the art advisory group Mason Lane to explore many iterations before arriving at the perfect piece.
Images: 1. Final Installation image Photo by Kevin Belanger 2. CAD drawing 3. Prototypes in studio 4-5 New works
Skytower was commissioned by the Pouch Cove Public Art Committee to be installed in Pouch Cove, Newfoundland from October 2024-25 as part of an initiative to bring a new sculpture to the community every year.
Excerpts from Pouch Cove Public Art website: https://pouchcovepublicart.ca/
“The Pouch Cove Public Art Committee (PCPAC) is a group of volunteers committed to enhancing the cultural and visual landscape of Pouch Cove by bringing contemporary outdoor art installations to public spaces.”
“The concept behind the Plinth Project is to replace artwork every twelve months, providing a platform for diverse artistic expressions. The PCPAC remains committed to enhancing the cultural environment of Pouch Cove, connecting residents, and inviting visitors to the area through our existing and future public art projects.”
Artist Statement
Sky Tower (Weather station) visualizes a large-scale tower inspired by the internal structure of a microscope. As the viewer approaches, the sky will be brought to earth in a series of reflections on stainless-steel discs, while colored plates towering into the sky take on the effect of rose-colored glasses to view the sky as it changes throughout the day and seasons. Much like a microscope or telescope, Skytower expands and amplifies space to offer alternate views and details of the environment.
Skytower (Weather Station), 2024 stainless steel, brass, acrylic 48 × 48 × 105 inches
Golden Hour 2023, acrylic, LED, aluminum and wood 240W x 70H x 48D inches
Golden Hour recreates the golden hour in a light-based sculpture installation. The golden hour is a period of sunrise and sunset when the sun is low above the horizon and sunlight appears golden. The installation consists of acrylic panels incised with concentric circles to mimic the pattern of radiating suns. The golden horizon has long been connected to enlightenment and the Golden Hour replays the sunrise and sunset on an eternal loop to provide an everlasting sense of renewal.
Visitors to the Golden Hour are encouraged to experience the artwork by sitting on the benches in front of the artwork. The sunrise and sunset are profound cues of renewal in daily life, marking time, rhythm, and continuum. The cycle of day and night is also embedded in the physical. Circadian sleep rhythms are linked to the cyclical appearance and disappearance of light in the health of biological systems in plants and animals. The day/night cycle is a recognized symbol of renewal, signifying not only a beginning but of the cycle itself ad perpetuum. Golden Hour provides an opportunity for people to pause and come between the light, to absorb its warmth and beauty.
Installation view at Trillium Park, Ontario Place in Toronto, Canada
Project: EVOLV Condo Lobby Installation Location: Toronto, Canada Commissioned by: Daniels Corporation Photography: Orlando Gomez Commissioned Artwork: Quantum Light Materials: brass, LED Dimensions: 14 x 20 x 11 feet Year: 2021
Quantum Light uses light, brass spheres, and blacken brass strips to portray quantum mechanics' wave-particle duality. This visibility of dynamic structures is poignant symbolism to celebrate Regent Park. The artwork symbolizes a pursuit of the truth in representation, which aligns with the project vision to make a positive statement about the unique dynamic character of Regent Park.
Images: 1. Finished Installation 2. Detail of finished artwork 3. View from outside 4. Concept Sketch 5. Concept sketch
Project: Light Whorl for Uniti, a residential building in Brampton, Canada Commissioned by Daniels Corporation Interior design: Johnson Chou Inc. Photography: Daniels Corp., Tonya Hart Commissioned Artwork: Light Whorl, 2023 Materials: walnut veneer composite panel with LED tubes Dimensions: 11 x 14 x 28 ft Year: 2023
Images shown from concept sketch to final installation.
A whorl in botany is an intrinsic pattern of growth, from the unfurling buds to the rings of a tree that all commence from a center point. The whorl is my inspiration for Light Whorl, a suspended sculpturethat combines light and walnut to create a unique artwork. The piece is composed of multiple layers of walnut veneer formed into waves to appear in the moment of unfurling with LED tubes weaved throughout to illuminate the contours of the whorl. The artwork is a dynamic feature to suit the multiple functions and match the energy of the party room.
The Eclipse series uses simple elements to capture the light of an eclipse and invoke a connection with the natural phenomena. The series includes chromatic and achromatic versions in a variety of scales.
Images: 1. Large Eclipse canvas, LEDs 48 x 48 x 2” 2. Eclipse, 2021 canvas, LEDs 28 x 28 x 1.5” : 3-4. Chromatic Eclipse 2022 canvas and LED, 30 x 30 x 2” 5. Birth, 2021 canvas, LEDs 28 x 28 x 1.5” 6. Large Eclipse canvas, LEDs 48 x 48 x 2”
The Tidal Series is an ongoing series inspired by fluid dynamics and the structure of water. The series began in 2012 with an oil on canvas painting and has since moved to sculptural media like limestone, stainless steel and acrylic. In 2018, Tidal Skeleton was selected for exhibition in the Venice Architecture Biennale in Venice, Italy.
Tidal Skeleton portrays the skeletal structure of water through a quarried slab of limestone paired with the pattern of the sun’s reflection on water cut out of clear acrylic. The weight of the solid, opaque stone is juxtaposed with the glass-like clear acrylic. Limestone, especially Keystone limestone from the Pleistocene age is composed of the sediment from skeletal fragments of marine organisms. It is a porous rock full of residual fossils defined over time and space. Clear acrylic is transparent but a solid plastic material. The contrast of pervious and impervious materials was important for a work that represents fluid dynamics, which affects both the formation and deterioration of matter.
Images as they appear:
1 Black Tide Sequence acrylic, silver engraving, 84”L x 12”H x 2”D
2 Black Tide, seq. 7 acrylic, silver engraving 36 x 36 x 2”
3 Tidal Axis in acrylic variations 1 & 2
4 Black Water, acrylic 14.5 x 19.5 x .4”
5,6 Black Water in Moonlight, acrylic 14.5 x 19.5”
7 Tidal Axis 2021, stainless steel 52 x 30 x 30”
8,9. Tidal Skeleton 2018, limestone, acrylic 56 x 21 x 6”
10 wave 2015, stainless steel 19 x 23 x .188”
11,12 Tidal Skeleton 2012 oil on canvas 36 x 42 x 2”
The Earthshine series began as a sculpture series in stainless steel and brass to portray sun rays reflecting off the earth. The drawings further explore the symbolism of the diagrammed drawings that use simple line to express the interactions of sunrays. Pictured here are the series of eighteen drawings framed alongside a limited edition bound book.
Images: 1-5: Earthshine drawings in edition of 75, 2022 framed 9 x 11 inches 6-8: Earthshine artist book and pages
New series exploring light and mesh to convey the energy of an aurora.
Project: Front Entrance of Artist Project Contemporary Art Fair Commissioned by: Informa Canada Location: Toronto, Canada Photography: Black Umbrella Commissioned Artwork: Towers for a Beam Materials: acrylic, cord, LED Dimensions: 100 x 11 ft wall Year: 2020
Artist Statement
Microscopes all share the same principle pattern based on the dispersion and convergence of information. Refraction, reflection and diffraction of light are all means of manipulating perception to render the invisible visible to reveal a new dimension of perception. This dispersion pattern and convergence of information is also evident in its design. Towers for a Beam is an installation of thirteen suspended sculptures based on the structural design of microscopes for the front entrance of Artist Project 2020. The installation invites viewers to explore each unique sculpture based on sight and perspectives before moving on to the diverse range of artistic styles, mediums and perspectives viewers will encounter in the Artist Project.
Images: Installation images
Magnetic Skeleton 2010, 2017, 2020 ball bearings, magnets, iron, wood, acrylic
Magnetic Skeleton depict a swarm of birds made of ball bearings, magnets and iron filings encased within a clear acrylic sphere. The sculptures visualize a flight of birds interrupted. The magnetism that once guided them on a migratory path has now grounded them to earth. The birds bear enormous weight. The steel balls that make up their bodily forms are physically heavy yet reminiscent of atoms fervently orbiting life. The iron filings form stalactites underneath the birds are reminders of the liquid iron deep within the earth’s core maintaining an elliptical course around the sun.
Hive Mapping, graphite on paper 32 x 48 inches
Hive Mapping belongs to a drawing series that responds to the hypothesis that bee colony collapse is caused by the uniformity of hive manufacture which increases the risk of disease. My aim was to create drawings that represent organic hive growth to mimic the natural proliferation of cells versus the uniform grid design. It was important that I minimize my influence on the hive’s design and find a means to draw without seeing what the overall shape would become. Therefore, I began the drawings with the paper scrolled so that only a few inches were visible at a time. I added hexagon upon hexagon and did not see the finished drawing until I ran out of paper and unrolled the final hive shape. The results are two uniquely shaped hives that show the different paths of exponential growth.
Later, I translated the drawings into CAD and had the designs cut out of baltic birch to create more variation of the work.
Project: Ontario Place Light Festival Commissioned by: Government of Ontario Location: Toronto, Canada Photography: Orlando Gomez Commissioned Artwork: Halo Materials: stainless steel, LED Dimensions: 106 x 88 x 50inches Year: 2018
Also pictured: Halo Series, 2019, acrylic, LED, wood panels 30 x 30 x 2”
Halos are optical illusions that occur when light interacts with ice crystals. In the moment a halo forms, the ice crystals are captured in cirrus or cirrostratus clouds and align to act like prisms. The refracted light forms a ring of white light or is dispersed into a spectrum of colors. Halo is a light sculpture that aligns three rings of light to provide the viewer an opportunity to discover the interchange of light.
Towers for a Beam II is a continuation of the series that seeks to explore the direction of light with new materials and scales.
Images: 1-6: In studio experimentations
INFRA 2011 polyurethane resin, florescent pigment, LED, aluminum, original installation comprised of nine adult-sized wolves and two pups
Exhibition history: Scotiabank Nuit Blanche, Toronto (2011) National Capital Commission for Winterlude (2012); NNC Public Art Initiaitive in Ottawa (2013), Placemaker Program Saskatoon (2013); and Nainamo Temporary Public Art (2014)
INFRA portrays a pack of wolves glowing in a spectrum of infrared colors. These thermal portraits refer to the wolves’ primal instinctive state set within an urban context. Much like camouflage, infrared imagery displays a recognizable pattern popularized by low resolution cameras. Heat is a by-product of an organism’ biological functions, therefore an infrared image provides insight into the organisms’ vitality. The wolves may appear alien and often wildlife discovered in human territories is met with fear and awe. Yet their thermal vitality is shared by all warm blooded animals.
Project: Gladstone House Location: Toronto, Canada Curator: Lee Petrie Photography: Orlando Gomez Commissioned Artwork: Aurora Skylight Materials: aluminum, acrylic Dimensions: 40 x 28 x 18 inches Year: 2021
Aurora Skylight was commissioned by the Gladstone House in Toronto, Canada to be installed on the ceiling of one of the newly renovated rooms of the hotel. The artwork is made with an array of colored acrylic fitted within a custom designed ceiling plate. Aurora Skylight is on a five year loan to the hotel until 2026.
Images:
1 - 3 Installation views 4. Aurora concept sketch 5,6. Similar artwork Aurora Gobo 2018 acrylic 40”
Hanging Garden 2022, LED and various metals suspended within 45 x 48 x 100 steel frame
Hanging Garden combines light and metal fragments suspended within a large steel frame to portray a close up of nature. Elements have also been added to show the presence of gravity and magnetism amidst life and decay, and light filters for color and wire shaped into branches for growth. The aim is to show lightness and weight, flux, and stasis, like peering at an exploded view of the inner mechanics of nature.
Solar Fields 2018 black limestone, acrylic, LED, stainless steel, Installation area 25 ft x 11 ft x 14 ft
Solar Fields was commissioned by Ontario Place Corp. The sculpture installation that takes inspiration from the sun. During Canadian winter the sun is often perceived as low, dim and distant behind forever grey clouds. However many people may not realize that the earth is in fact closest to the sun during the winter (called the perihelion) and further away during summer (aphelion). It is the tilt of the earth’s axis which accounts for seasonal fluctuation. Solar Fields highlights the sun’s proximity to the earth during winter by emulating the sun’s magnetic fields to become a point of discovery, vitality and brilliance for the Ontario Place Light Exhibition. The sculpture uses light, acrylic and metal to portray the sun’s magnetic fields radiating in vivid orange and yellows at night, while during the day the magnetic arches appear like static icicles frozen into place.
