Bay Area Review 2024

Jewish Contemporary Art Museum Exhibit, 
First Light: Rituals of Glass and Neon Art 

Vianne De Santiago, April 5th, 2024

    Continuing my trip to the Jewish Contemporary Art Museum in San Francisco. On their second floor was the exhibition, First Light: Rituals of Glass and Neon Art, which explores the craftsmanship of neon and glass mediums. The title is a note to the stars and galaxies being born. Combining spirituality, culture, and religion with this medium allows these artists to display their works uniquely and unforgettably. The artists from this exhibition I will discuss are Angelina Almukhametova, Meryl Pataky, Victoria Ahmadizadeh, Lily Reeves, Jess Krichelle, and Mollie McKinley.

Photograph of the front of the Jewish Contemporary Art Museum

Video of exhibition's title

    Photo of me in front of the exhibition title

The exhibition was curated by She Bends. This organization is dedicated to preserving the medium of neon to enter it into fine art environments. When first entering the exhibition's space, you are given an amazing first impression of the show through Lily Reeves's hanging work, Light in the Sky, 2023, mirrored armatures, cut glass, frosted acrylic, crystal, color-changing dichroic film, motion sensor. First seeing this work, I was in awe of the craftsmanship and the visuals of the work.

    Photograph of Light in the Sky, 2023, mirrored armatures, cut glass, frosted acrylic, crystal, color-changing dichroic film, motion sensor by Lily Reeves

    Looking at the form of the work, Reeve uses variations of shapes to create her composition. The different directions of the circles help guide the eyes through the work. At the top of the work is a mirrored reflection. From this, you can see yourself within the work and other directions, the composition can go. Reeve uses diverse colors as the work changes colors, keeping the viewer’s attention. The first room only had this hanging lightwork and a bending table. From the photograph below, provided by Reeve's Instagram (@Reevesstudios), you can see the area of the artwork and the table. The bending table shows the tools and setup to process neon. The table though was blocked off and was not allowed to touch.

    Photograph of Bending Table and Light in the Sky, 2023, mirrored armatures, cut glass, frosted acrylic, crystal, color-changing dichroic film, motion sensor by Lily Reeves from @Reevesstudios Instagram

    Going into the next room of the exhibition, Jess Krichelle, filmed a documentary on the topic of neon art. The video was fifteen minutes long and interviewed artists who work with neon. I found the video interesting and informative. There is a section in the video where a Professor expresses how the University she teaches at is one of the only schools that offers teaching about neon usage in art. Before this exhibition, I did not know neon was a form of medium. This documentary helped viewers like me understand the basis of neon artworks and the skills it takes to work with them.

    The exhibition's third room showcased works by Angelina Almukhametova, Mollie McKinley, and Victoria Ahmadizadeh Melendez. I was first drawn to Victoria’s work with her use of bright colors. The work is titled, be, ebb, enter, 2023, glass, argon, mercury (second photo). Victoria expresses in her artist's statement how her writing has become connected to her art. Accompanying her work was a poem Victoria wrote, “I am still without dreams, the spirit of the lake, holds out her arms to me, the static dances at her feet: be, ebb, enter”. After reading the poem, I understood the composition choices from Victoria. The work has great movement, guiding your eyes back and forth. The blue tones give a flowing movement, helping me visualize the poem. With the subject of the poem, I envisioned "her" being the tall figure and the "spirit of the lake" the shallow pool of blue.

Photograph of Victoria Ahmadizadeh Melendez's Artist's Statement

  

    Photograph of be, ebb, enter, 2023, glass, argon, mercury by Victoria Ahmadizadeh Melendez

    Victoria's work was paired next to Mollie McKinley's work, Illuminated Blue Froth Phantasm, 2022, Photograph on padded and cauterized canvas, argon, and mercury in neon glass tube (second and third photos). I stared at this work for an extended time and could picture the foam moving. Her placement of the neon helped manipulate her composition into being in motion. If she had placed the neon away from the foam, the work would not have had the same effect.

Photograph of Mollie McKinley's work, Illuminated Blue Froth Phantasm, 2022, Photograph on padded and cauterized canvas, argon, and mercury in neon glass tube

        Photograph of Mollie McKinley's work, Illuminated Blue Froth Phantasm, 2022, Photograph on padded and cauterized canvas, argon, and mercury in neon glass tube

    The last artist featured in the third room was Angelina Almukhametova. Her work featured was, Rhizome Intermezzo #2, 2023, tree root, krypton, speaker, transducer, and induction coil. Through Angelina's work, she explores the catalyzing of ecological revelation and visual transfiguration. She uses the sound of neon to enhance her storytelling of nature. From this work, I could recognize similar sounds of thunder. The neon in this piece was created with jagged lines and flickered in a flashing motion, giving it the impression of lighting. Including a real tree root, helped drive her vision for the work while giving it a unique touch. The third room of the exhibit presented a more natural concept and the artists's works complimented each other greatly with their similar use of colors.

Photograph of  Angelina Almukhametova's Artist's Statement

    Photograph of Rhizome Intermezzo #2, 2023, tree root, krypton, speaker, transducer, and induction coil by Angelina Almukhametova 

    Entering the last room of the exhibit, I was in awe of Meryl Pataky's work, Invocation Through Fabrication: Key of Solomon Talisman, Success in Business/Trade, 2018, glass tubing, neon, argon, and helium. The work in person, is beautiful, and the lighting draws you in. Pataky's work references The Great Pentacle from the They of Solomon and the Star of David to evoke a spiritual emotion. When staring at the piece, I could feel the emotion she was aiming for and could not look away. This was my favorite work from the exhibition. I loved the symmetry of the work and the colors. Pataky's use of warm colors gave the piece a more feminine expression, and the candle arrangement complimented her major work.

Photograph of Meryl Pataky's Artist's Statement

Photograph of Meryl Pataky's work, Invocation Through Fabrication: Key of Solomon Talisman, Success in Business/Trade, 2018, glass tubing, neon, argon, and helium

    Photograph of Meryl Pataky's work, Invocation Through Fabrication: Key of Solomon Talisman, Success in Business/Trade, 2018, glass tubing, neon, argon, and helium

    The First Light exhibition showcased a wonderful range of works involving the medium neon and glass. The She Bend and Jewish Contemporary Art Museum gave these women the space to tell their stories and display their works, to drive their message of entering neon art into fine art spaces. The artists I highlighted, impacted my experience from the exhibition and helped me envision the spiritual connections they bring to their art. This exhibition is only up until April 28th but is worth visiting San Fransico for.