Artist Stephen Knapp creates his technicolor masterpieces with a remarkably ordinary, if impalpable, material: light, manipulated into radiant bursts with the help of glass and stainless steel. Stretching scattered geometries of gem-like hues across otherwise darkened walls, he refers to his refracted compositions as paintings, and he’s been creating them for years—in fact, we first discovered his work in 2013, but he developed the technique in the late 1990s. It seems the possibilities are endless, rendering infinite iterations from an intangible source.
In his “lightpaintings,” Knapp seems to suggest the dazzling spectrums of possibility enfolded in our everyday surroundings, reminding of the magic in the mundane. In a biographical documentary, he cites exploration and experimentation as crucial influences, hoping to inspire viewers to “step back and go somewhere different,” too, in order to see what unexpected wonder they might find.
Until August 27, 2016, Knapp’s latest Lightpaintings exhibition is on view at the Pensacola Museum of Art. Visitors are even invited to attend community yoga classes in the upstairs galleries, illuminated by fourteen of his expansive creations.
Stephen Knapp: Website | Facebook
Pensacola Museum of Art: Website | Facebook | Instagram
via [Colossal]
All images via Pensacola Museum of Art and Stephen Knapp.
