Deep Time – Keith Lemley

About

The installation will consist of hand-bent neon on geometrically carved marble sculptures, placed throughout the stark urban New York cityscape. These light sculptures visualize the universe through geometry.

The geometric theories that describe the universe are reflected by the sharp angles of the marble plains as well as the bends in the lights. Forms are instigated by Lemley’s interest in deep time and models of the universe, as well as his drive to create a physical and visual bridge to attain a better understanding of the unfathomably complex structure that compiles our universe. The objects together create an immersive installation that recreates a space of wonder and transformation, plummeting the viewer into a new realm.

The marble is a new material for the artist, whose work usually features carved wood. Though the sculptures share visual similarities in their execution of angular shapes, they differ in many natural aspects, as a result of the rock, such as veins and fissures, which ultimately determine the carve. These idiosyncrasies in the material show a history and formation through deep time. The neon acts as a counterpoint to the weighty marble formally, materially, and conceptually. The lines of light become drawings in three-dimensional space, exaggerating the shapes and drawing attention to characteristics of the natural material. Light embodies dichotomies of phenomenological systems and objects, as it can be observed but physically transcends.