Nov 29 2023
Look Up! Leo Villareal's Astral Array at New Mexico Museum of Art Vladem Contemporary
What would it be like to see a symphony? How can you capture the rhythm of waves or a murmuration in constellations of light? If anyone can offer a visual representation of multi-sensory experiences, multimedia artist Leo Villareal can. As Villareal shares in his conversation with Encounter Culture host, Emily Withnall, “I think of my tools more like instruments in a way. And I'm making kind of visual music.” Leo Villareal is a world-renowned artist with roots in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and in El Paso and Marfa, Texas. He currently lives in Brooklyn where he owns a gallery and oversees a team of artists, engineers, and programmers. His light sculptures can be seen in galleries in Geneva, London, Hong Kong, San Francisco, Madrid, Washington, D.C., Beijing, Amsterdam, New York, and San Antonio—to name a few. Among Villareal’s newest light sculptures is Astral Array, an installation on view permanently in the outdoor breezeway to New Mexico Museum of Art’s new Vladem Contemporary location in the Santa Fe Railyard. Villareal draws inspiration from the natural world, from Indigenous weaving, and from computer coding and programming. Despite the sometimes-impermanent nature of his installations, many of which are site- and time-specific, he appreciates the cycle of creation and dismantling inherent to his work and to the ways in which his continued experiments with light are visible to all. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE New Mexico Museum of Art Vladem Contemporary Illuminated River: A Public Art Commission Visit https://newmexicoculture.org for info about our museums, historic sites, virtual tours, and more. Our favorite way to fully experience everything they have to offer is with the New Mexico Culture Pass. Find out how to get yours here. Subscribe to El Palacio Magazine *** Encounter Culture, a production of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, is produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios. Hosted by Emily Withnall, editor at El Palacio Magazine Executive Producer: Daniel Zillmann Technical Director & Post-Production Audio: Edwin R. Ruiz Recording Engineer: Kabby at Kabby Sound Studios in Santa Fe Editor & Production Manager: Alex Riegler Theme Music: D’Santi Nava Instagram: @newmexicanculture