||Stephen Knapp, Risen Blue, 2004,
image © Stephen Knapp
. . . lightpaintings are unique tridimensional installations that produce a dynamic, unexpected explosion of color and light, expanding the tradition of kinetic and op art.
Called the first new art medium of the twenty-first century, Lightpaintings dispense with traditional media and narrative content. They are formed at the intersection of painting, sculpture and architecture, their inspiration deriving from explorations of space and dimension, light and color, and perception. The resulting Lightpaintings are intangible, multi-dimensional compositions of pure luminosity.
Stephen Knapp creates his Lightpaintings by using a special glass treated with layers of metallic coatings that act as a selective prism to separate focused light into different frequencies of the spectrum. Knapp cuts, shapes and polishes the glass in his studio to make a palette that he can use to refract and reflect light onto a surface and the surrounding space.
Individually tailored for each museum installation, Knapp’s Lightpaintings embody an inherently unique and wholly original form of art that integrates sculptural, structural and purely visual elements into compositions that transform their environment.