Illuminated River launches virtual exhibition in partnership with Art UK
(UK) – Virtual exhibition curated by Illuminated River artist Leo Villareal
Illuminated River has partnered with Art UK to produce virtual exhibition The Thames Bridges in Light and Colour.
Illuminated River artist Leo Villareal joins a long tradition of artists who have been inspired by the Thames and its bridges – his light compositions mimic the ever-changing movement of the river, using shifting hues drawn from the London sky during sunset, through nightfall and under moonlight.
In this exhibition, Villareal selects paintings of the next bridges to be illuminated, from artists whose approach to light and colour has resonance with his own. Featuring pieces by Canaletto, Monet and Whistler, to contemporary artists like Frank Bowling.
Speaking of Alfred Daniels’ Parliament and Lambeth Palace, London, Leo Villareal said: “We are up height at an interesting eye level that the artist could not have physically experienced in this stylised painting. The precise geometric strokes that mark Lambeth Bridge in red correspond nicely to the iconic double-decker buses. All of this occurs within a generally muted and pastel environment. Westminster and its surroundings are painstakingly rendered. I am most interested in the water and the way the currents are depicted by arching forms. The reflection of the bridge is fascinating in its brown and almost pointillist strokes.”
The exhibition can be viewed on the ArtUK website here.
Illuminated River is a free public artwork transforming the Thames at night. Site-specific lighting artworks have been installed on the river’s central bridges in the longest public art project in the world. Light installations are currently visible on the first four bridges – London, Cannon Street, Southwark and Millennium.
