solarise: a sea of all colors is Luftwerk’s site-specific response to the Garfield Park Conservatory’s historic structure, and natural collection. Inspired by the groundbreaking and innovative vision of Jens Jensen, the godfather of naturalistic landscape and conservatory design, Luftwerk’s series of art installations throughout the conservatory echo Jensen’s sentiment for public interaction with nature, elevating and highlighting the perception and importance nature plays in society and urban planning.
The response comes in the form of five dynamic, immersive installations inspired by each piece’s surrounding exhibit: The Beacon, Portal, Florescence, Seed of Light, and Prismatic. Each artwork invites the visitor to interact with color, light, and nature in new perspectives, highlighting awareness for the visitor’s natural surroundings, the relevance of Jensen’s visionary landscape, and the architectural and societal significance of the building and grounds.
With advance notice, tours are available by request. Contact Barbara Carney, bcarney@garfieldpark.org to arrange a tour.
Biography of Speaker/Presenter:
Luftwerk is the artistic vision of Petra Bachmaier and Sean Gallero
Luftwerk’s art practice focuses on the exploration of what makes a space a place and how art plays a vital role within urban and natural environments. With each individual project, Luftwerk discovers and accentuates the unique connections between architecture, environment and the communities which interact within these places, transforming their experiences of space and site through light and sound.
With immersive light art installations at landmarks such as the AT&T Plaza in Chicago’s Millennium Park, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater in Pennsylvania, Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House in Illinois, to name a few, Luftwerk installations open new aesthetic conversations within public spaces and landmark structures, encouraging viewers to perceive the environment, histories, and concepts surrounding them with a heightened awareness for meaning and place.
Additional Partners:
The solarise exhibit is made possible through a generous grant from ComEd and Exelon Corporation with additional support from the Chicago Park District and The Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance.
