Leo Villareal
(American, b. 1967)
Light Matrix (Houston), 2022
October 2022 – Ongoing
Light Matrix (Houston), a site-specific artwork by Leo Villareal, is composed of 3,960 individually-programmable, monochromatic LED nodes contained within 90 mirrored stainless steel rods. The patterns are sequenced using the artist’s custom software and evoke things one might see under a microscope or in the cosmos. Villareal’s abstract artwork uses a luminous field of floating particles to bring the building to life.
Firmly rooted in abstraction, Villareal’s approach uses layered sequencing that results in open-ended and subjective visual experiences. His works often reference organic systems and evoke—but do not illustrate—atmospheric elements in that emergent and unexpected behavior occurs without a predetermined outcome, as in Light Matrix (Houston). The artist is best known for his investigation of artificial space and for creating environments comprised of found objects, video, light, and sound.
LOCATION
University of Houston
Tillman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine