Shadow/Figure: Selections from the Light Work Collection

Light Work is pleased to present Shadow/Figure: Selections from the Light Work Collection in the Jeffrey J. Hoone Gallery. Curated by Victor Rivera, Light Work’s Exhibitions and Collection Coordinator, with donated work by recent artists-in-residence: David Alekhougie, Liz Johnson Artur, Wills Brewer, Gary Burnley, Mercedes Dorame, Sayuri Ichida, Yi Hsuan Lai, Mollie McKinley, Christie Neptune, Ahndraya Parlato, and Bianca and Riel Sturchio. The exhibition will run from Tuesday, September 3 until Friday, October 11, 2024. 

“The work was selected first, based on casual visual associations, color palette, or unexpected synchronicity. The theme then followed, emerging out of the artistic micro–climate created by a coalescence of various purposes and approaches of the individual artists. Shadow/Figure as a title is a suggestion for possible routes to take to read the images. In the most literal sense, Shadow/Figure can be seen simply as the visual elements in a photograph. In another reading, the “shadow figure” as an idea references the presence of a spirit or ghostly apparition, or the specter of death and grief. Seen through a psychoanalytical lens, the shadow contains parts of the self that are repressed or concealed from the conscious mind. Or, from a societal perspective, it is suggestive of the most brutal aspects of humanity, including the immeasurable violence humans inflict upon one another and the natural environment, with consequences that reverberate through generations.” —Victor Rivera 

The images reflect an atmosphere that is visceral, symbolic, and surreal, with formal and metaphorical connections and meanings, on the surface and beyond. 

Since 1979, Light Work’s Artist-in-Residence Program has invited between twelve to fifteen artists to Syracuse to devote one month to creative projects every year. Over 400 artists have participated in this program, with the support of Autograph ABP and the Darryl Chappell Foundation. 

Learn more