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His art has been displayed around the world in famed locations such as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. This holiday season, British artist Bruce Munro will showcase his new series, “Desert Radiance,” throughout Scottsdale. This art show is comprised of four unique light-based exhibits at different locations across the Valley. To capture the beauty of the desert through his artwork, Munro has created individual works that are locationspecific to truly represent their surroundings. His art installations can be enjoyed throughout the season at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, the Arizona Canal at the Scottsdale Waterfront, the Desert Botanical Garden and the Lisa Sette Gallery. Munro creates large light-based works of art inspired by his interest in the shared human experience. He has 30 years’ worth of ideas in his sketchbooks and portrays his unique views of music, literature, science and the world through his artwork. Munro received a fine arts degree in England in 1982 and then began working in design and lighting in Sydney, where he found inspiration in Australia’s natural landscape. He then returned to and settled in England to raise a family. His father’s death in 1999 was a major turning point in both his personal life and career. Munro suffered from anxiety, fear and a loss of confidence for a year and started to rethink simple experiences of connection to serve as the basis of art. He felt the need to continue his artistic passion, and has been creating worldwide artistic extravagance ever since. Current works displayed at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art will run through April 24, 2016. Munro’s special exhibit at this location features “Ferryman’s Crossing.” This work is inspired by Hermann Hesse’s novel, “Siddhartha,” a story about a man’s spiritual journey, guided by a ferryman. In this exhibit, Munro transcribed a passage from the book into Morse code and turned it into light. There are extensive rows of reflective compact discs that are lit by spotlights to evoke sunlight bouncing off water. Commissioned by Scottsdale Public Art, Munro’s art is also on display at the Arizona Canal at the Scottsdale Waterfront. This location features the exhibit “Blooms,” December 2015
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