Fosdick-Nelson Gallery presents Luftwerk

Alfred University’s Fosdick-Nelson Gallery will host a reception for the exhibition Frequency / Chronology by Luftwerk from 6 to 8 pm Friday, Sept. 9. The exhibition will run through October 9.

The cycle between light and dark, day and night, reveals a daily spectacle of color which has long-inspired scientists and artists, bringing forth a canon of theories about color and perception. Frequency / Chronology is a series of mixed media installations that explores those theories to create an immersive dialogue on color. 

Gallery hours are 11 am to 4 pm on weekdays, and 1-3 pm on weekends.

In conjunction with their exhibition, the artists Petra Bachmaier and Sean Gallero, will give a lecture about their work exploring light, color and perception as part of the Weekly Wednesday Artist Speaker Series on Wednesday, September 7 at 7 pm in Nevins Theater in the Powell Campus Center.

Petra and Sean have a long-standing relationship with the School of Art and Design including residencies with the Institute of Electronic Arts (2013, 2018, 2020), and a 2015 collaboration with Chase Angier (Professor of Dance) on As the Air Moves Back From You, a performance installation exhibited in the Fosdick-Nelson Gallery. That same year they were invited as the Theodore Randall Chair in Art and Design and co-taught a class on Light and Art with Sarah Blood. In October of this year Petra and Sean will create a series of prints in a residency at the Institute of Electronic Art in conjunction with the show.

About the artists:

Petra Bachmaier and Sean Gallero met in 1999 while studying at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and soon discovered a shared interest in installations that transform and sculpt spaces using light, color, and texture, prompting them to found their own studio. Asked how they came up with the name Luftwerk, they reply: “We wanted to find a name that reflected how people experience our work.” Luft (air) stands for the ephemeral, immaterial properties of light. Werk (work, artwork) alludes to the materiality of surfaces, structures, and methods, and defines the framework in which light, color and sound take shape. Their work shifts the viewer’s perceptions of space and site and opens new conversations by inviting the public to experience the familiar transformed.

Since founding in 2007, Luftwerk has amassed a significant body of work ranging from site-specific installations to experimental projects that interpret data. Light and color are primary elements in work by Luftwerk. Their interest lies in the power of light as a crucial element to sight, exploring its dynamic relationship with the perception of color. Using various modalities—projecting videos, casting shadows, creating a custom sculpture—they integrate light into every project to explore its ephemeral and shifting nature.

The artists will work with Foundations students the first week of September, and return to Alfred October 10-15  for a residency at the Institute for Electronic Arts.