As the days slowly grow shorter and the dwindling hours of bright daylight that we get each day become more precious, I can’t help but to linger on the importance of light in our everyday surroundings, as well as in art. The right kind of light can be the difference between a good day and a bad day, the deciding factor between a sundress or sweatpants, or a weekend spent hiking rather than curled up in bed.

Light governs so much of the choices we make; it’s mutability, its tendency to be in a constant state of flux carries so much power that it feels almost arbitrary at times. Yet we observe a relatively strict code of conduct every year when summer turns to fall. We change what we wear, what we eat, where we go, and how we behave to mark these changes in light. Art is not unlike the changing of the seasons in the sense that light can make all the difference when it comes to tone. All of the works in this week’s curation use light in different ways to guide the ways in which their work is interpreted.

Blinding Light

This painting, titled Rustling I, by artist Wan Yang emanates pure, blinding light. Against the hazy, atmospheric background, the stark white triangle nearly glows. Like an oracle or some object of divinity, it leans regally, fully erect. The artist writes that this work “indicates an anthropomorphic whisper [...] depicts the second when the light shifts on the wall. The sublime in such instances strikes me. I realize that our vision is frozen in its own specific moment in time.”

https://artinres.com/articles/curations-with-jordan-holms-in-the-right-light