IRIDESCENCE

An Exhibition Catalogue

Illustration of the digital exhibition catalog

IRIDESCENCE is a collaboration between the Hologram Foundation in Paris, funded by Hugues Souparis and Center for the Holographic Arts, the HoloCenter in New York, which supports artists to create new work and puts art holograms within reach of buyers.

Holocenter | ON CANAL is part of the district for new ideas operated by Wallplay and co-curated by Vibes Studios. #ONCANAL

“The Hologram Foundation has enabled eleven artists from around the world to create major holographic works.

Given the beauty and visual dynamics of art holograms it is a pity that we rarely experience them. Artists have been drawn to holography since first demonstrated in the 1960s. However, only a few artists have had the persistence, skills and support to bring their vision through the technically precise process. Each major new artwork represents a significant investment of skills, technology and time to stake new ground in the relatively young medium of holographic art.

Very few art holograms are offered for sale. The artists who do purse the medium often create most of their work for commissions and exhibited artworks are usually in museums. The art market is starting to understand the nuances of holograms that don't quite fit with photography or sculptures but are objects that also create a field of light.

The eleven artists who have received production grants from the Hologram Foundation work with a diverse range of techniques. Many of them have built studios of lasers and optics in order to achieve their particular style. They work inside these room-scale cameras to shape laser light and photo-etch the light waves into the microscopic physical structure of the hologram.

The art holograms created for IRIDESCENCE contemplate our relationships with nature, culture and memory. The perspective of a bystander in Patrick Boyd's animated holograms give a glimpse into an inherited culture. Betsy Connors harnesses the beauty of coral to bring awareness to catastrophic ecological change. The relationship of time and light inspire the sublime forms composed by August Muth. There are celebrations of the body, of dance, and of spirituality.

The artists have composed visual space with forms of pure color to create optically dynamic artworks. As we move through the light of these art holograms what emerges pulls on our sense of reality. We enter the superimposed dimensions of each holographic composition.

The artists have sculpted light for us to unfold into vivid holographic scenes. “ —Martina Mrongovius, HoloCenter Creative Director, New York, 2019