Keith Sonnier: Light Works

Related exhibition from 12 June to 29 November 2015
Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MAMAC)

Nice's Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MAMAC) continues its study of American art and assemblage art with an exhibition entitled 'Light Works' on the American artist Keith Sonnier, from 12 June to 29 November 2015. Born in 1941 in Louisiana, Keith Sonnier began his career in the mid-1960s and started using neon very early on. He insists on anti-illusion sculpture and takes a stand against the coldness of minimalist sculpture. Sonnier mainly uses supple materials (fabric, ribbon, net curtains and metal grating) and creates curved neon shapes inspired by his homeland and travels. His illuminated masterpieces are instantly more narrative and expressive than those of his contemporaries, in the manner of Richard Serra, Dan Flavin or Sol LeWitt. Unfailingly joyous and airy with great movement, his sculptures explore the effects of light on materials, space, and the observer.
Sonnier's work has been widely exhibited in France and abroad, including the recent "When Attitudes Become Form" show at Venice's Prada Foundation, "Dynamo" at the Grand-Palais (Paris) and "Neon – Who’s afraid of red, yellow and blue?" at the Maison Rouge (Paris) and the MACRO (Rome).

The exhibition unfurls over approximately 1,500 m² encompassing around thirty pieces representative of the artist's career from the 1960s to today, taken from private European and American collections as well as the artist's studio. All of the spaces are both independent and complementary, interconnected by footbridges that also feature the artist's work. Light serves as a common thread that runs through the space. Neon as a calligrapher's pen, the totemic metamorphosis of sculpture through the integration of the object or the concept of reflection and its impact on the surrounding environment are all lines of thought offered up for contemplation throughout the exhibition. "Light Works" is a beautiful illustration of 2015, declared by the United Nations as the Year of Light.

One piece on the theme of the Promenade des Anglais was especially designed for the exhibition within the context of the "Nice 2015. Promenade(S) des Anglais" event. Inspired by Nice, Keith Sonnier created the in situ Passage Azur piece, an astral dome that envelops the visitor in a burst of light. The installation is a nod to Nice's coastal topography, its origins as a Palaeolithic site until the Roman invasions and the advent of Christianity, and of course, the great love felt for the region by the English, who lent their name to the Promenade des Anglais. The 'passage' in question here is literal as well as metaphorical. This piece blends and fuses all of these elements under an aerial dome that seems to hint at a celestial voyage as well as modern modes of transport in an urban setting.