ONSITE KATONAH

LIGHT BETWEEN THE ISLANDS  at the Katonah Museum

Location: Katonah Museum | Katonah, NY, 2016
Media: LEDs, reflective material, custom lighting sequence, electrical hardware.
Dimensions: 34 ft x 34 ft x 11 ft 8 in

Grimanesa Amorós’s practice is grounded in the dialogue between technological innovation and the natural world. While her light-based environments evoke elemental phenomena such as the aurora borealis, she recontextualizes these experiences through meticulously engineered installations that heighten perception and invite contemplation.

For OnSite Katonah, Amorós presents a constellation of luminous sculptural forms that appear to float within the gallery. These works are inspired by the Uros Islands, which are artificial, floating landforms constructed by the Uros people on Lake Titicaca in her native Peru. Composed of interwoven layers of totora reeds, the islands are maintained through a cyclical process in which decomposing material is continually replenished from above. This allows the structures to remain buoyant over time. Amorós translates this organic methodology into a contemporary visual language, using shifting LED lights to evoke the ephemeral beauty and resilience of these living architectures. In doing so, she creates a powerful synthesis of ancestral knowledge and future-facing technology.

OnSite Katonah features site-specific installations conceived in response to the Katonah Museum of Art’s landscape, architecture, and institutional context.