From the LA Philharmonic to Printemps New York, Grimanesa Amorós' New Site-Specific Installations

Today, artist Grimanesa Amorós will unveil Perfect Timing, her dazzling light-art installation for Printemps New York. The site-specific commission, a luminous entrance accent, greets visitors with various strands of color upon arrival. It’s her second sculptural debut this January, and follows the critical acclaim of Radiance. A monumental work within Walt Disney Concert Hall, Radiance was designed in collaboration with the LA Philharmonic to coincide with its recent production of Prometheus, directed by composer and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen and featuring pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet.

“Prometheus is a poem of fire—when fire was first shared with humanity,” Amorós tells Surface. “The LA Philharmonic, their relationship with artists is incredible. I controlled their own lights as well as the light sequences of the sculpture I installed. We synchronized six major moments of the piece with these. Second by second, I composed with light.” For Amorós, the music, the lights, the sculptural installation, and the Frank Gehry architecture were one—in dialogue with attendees. The conceptual power was revealed in this totality.

The entire run of Prometheus sold out. Still, Perfect Timing, Printemps’ first-ever commission of a light artist, will be visible to even more viewers. The work converses with passersby—asking them to reflect on pace and presence—and equally engages the landmarked Art Deco architecture of One Wall Street. “When I do a piece, there has to be a strong conceptual reason anchoring it,” she explains. Here, the green, yellow, and red lights are direct translations of the city’s language of movement.

Such cultural commentary and connection is pivotal to the artist’s practice. As Perfect Timing communes with New Yorkers (Amorós lives and works in the city), Radiance channeled her Peruvian heritage. Not only did it reference Russian composer Alexander Scriabin’s early 20th-century lyrical composition Prometheus, but it also invoked the wonder of Incan god Viracocha, creator of wisdom. “I am never fearful of the challenge,” the artist says of the nuanced commission. “It excites me—a romance with the unknown.”