NYAB Event - Niko Luoma "And Time Is No Longer an Obstacle"

Niko Luoma "And Time Is No Longer an Obstacle"

Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery

This event has ended.

Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery presenta And Time is No Longer an Obstacle, the first solo exhibition in the United States by esteemed Helsinki School artist Niko Luoma.

Niko Luoma (b. 1970) uses light as a raw material to produce images that visualize the passage of time by drawing focus to the intrinsic qualities of the photographic medium itself. Through a calculated, analogue technique of exposing a single negative to lines of light, hundreds or even thousands of times, the finished works reflect the system by which they were created. Luoma's images are organized moments in time- linear interactions without boundaries conveying an impression of limitless depth through change and repetition.

The methodical, yet experimental, development of Luoma's images can be likened to the "New Vision" of the Bauhaus photographers, in particular the photograms by Laszlo Moholy-Nagy and Man Ray. Though Luoma's approach relies on mathematics, rules and standards, much is left to chance and the possibility of the unexpected. Similar to the layered mark making of the American process painters of the 1960s, Luoma's stratified exposures of light imbue his pictures with a visual history of their own evolution.

The exhibition will consist of selected works representing different series dating from 2009 through 2012. Luoma's most recent Ligeti series (2012) expands upon his rectilinear compositions from the Symmetrium series (2009) into complex, curvilinear entanglements of sweeping lines and contours. Conversely, his Motive
series (2011), are stripped down minimalist interpretations, beckoning similarities to Frank Stella's Black Paintings.

Niko Luoma's works are included in permanent collections such as the Danish National Museum of Photography, Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Espoo Museum of Modern Art and the Helsinki City Art Museum. He currently lives and works in Helsinki, Finland and is a leading professor at University of Art and Design, Helsinki.

[Image: Niko Luoma "LIGETI #4" (2012) Diasec / archival pigment print, 67 x 53 1/2 in, edition of 5]