When the artists learned they would be able to use Ketra to realize their creative visions for the exhibition, they were ecstatic. The feeling was, 'Now we can do so much more.
From the moment they approach Monica Vegas’ creation, This Is The Now, viewers are bathed in the powerful beauty of natural light. Her representation of the local light of Cuernavaca was created by lighting a series of translucent fabric panels with four synchronized Ketra lamps. Using Ketra natural light capabilities, Vegas recreates a full day of light in just seven minutes—taking visitors from soft, warm morning light to crisp afternoon light before concluding with a glorious red and orange sunset.
Monica Vegas' "This is the Now" provides both a visual representation of light rays themselves & how they change throughout the day.
Artist Omar Gomez turns light on its head by focusing on the absence of light, shadow, in his installation Entreluz. His canvas, a gray retro-reflective fabric, was chosen for its ability to return light back to where it came. The exhibit’s light source—which included a combination of Ketra lamps—delivers a specific sequence of light either moving along the white color temperature spectrum or comprised of saturated pinks, greens, blues, purples, and reds depending upon whether the immediate space is empty or occupied. When visitors step in the actual installation, they stand between the canvas and the light source, becoming part of the work themselves. Taking a flash photo creates a stunning result: visitors appear only as their silhouette, the interplay of the flash and the retro-reflective canvas combining to create shadow.
A visitor walks in front of Gomez's "Entreluz". In the flash photograph she appears only as her shadow against the reflective fabric.
In JARDIN RiZOMATICO, Shamin Cecilia Ramos explores light as a root force that interconnects both the material and immaterial. The artist constructed an enclosed room within the exhibit—essentially a white box with a textured floor, featuring six Ketra ceiling lights and a white bench for visitors to sit. The lights are programmed to deliver highly saturated light that paints the walls and floor of the constructed space in a rainbow of colors. A mirrored surface within the space allows viewers to observe the changes in how they look and feel as the colors shift.
Shamin Cecilia Ramos' "JARDÍN RIzOMÁTICO" changes drastically as Ketra light paints the space with color.
A haunting, large format installation, _SPECTRA by Fiama Diaz and Miguel Vega, uses eleven Ketra luminaires to provide light in various color temperatures (2000K-5000K). A collection of nylon threads is pulled taut across the space with Diaz and Vega using varying intensities of light to create a sense of motion and movement across the piece. Viewers are free to interpret the representation as anything dynamic and in constant motion—a ghost, a UFO, a bundle of hope, a brushstroke, or a memory. Controlled by Lutron, the Ketra light sources gave the artists total flexibility to place light with precision, layer color temperatures and intensities, and to create multiple focal points and sensations. The installation can be seen throughout the space and was designed to be appreciated from various angles.
"_SPECTRA" by Fiama Diaz and Miguel Vega dramatically draws the eye upwards and creates sense of movement.
In a return to the theme of natural phenomena, PHOTOTROPISME by Anahy Cabrera depicts the slow morphological patterns that form in reaction to the sun’s energy. A visual exercise in texture and color, light fills in each frame, creating a “painted” brushstroke that feels real enough to be touched in one moment—and then vanishes in the next. This installation features two types of lighting expertly interwoven to create the artist’s stunning sequences: Ketra light sources provide the bold, saturated colors that define the ambience, while three other fixtures, one per canvas, cast white light in various intensities.
The topography of each canvas in Cabrera's "PHOTOTROPISME" is revealed and obscured by the changing light.
In addition to the array of striking lighting installations, MMAC also offers a full program of talks, workshops and a science webinar all centered around the importance of light in daily life and how it is applied in the world of art. We at Ketra and Lutron are inspired to see these wonderful artists using our lighting solutions to deliver this unique museum experience, and hope that this post has captured at least of bit of the magic that exhibit visitors enjoyed. To see more creative applications of light, follow Ketra on Instagram or visit our projects page to explore how Ketra allows designers and artists to bring their own visions to colorful life.
Photography by Jaime Navarro.
