SPOTLIGHT { S T E P H E N
K N A P P }
Exhibition
Stephen Knapp: Lightpaintings On view through December 26th at the Naples Museum of Art www.thephil.org
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S T E P H E N K N A P P ’ S Light-
paintings expand the concept of light sculpture and light art and continue the traditions of kinetic art, op art and abstract painting. His sculptural canvases appear to be painted, but are, in fact, created with light and glass. Lightpaintings are the intersection of painting, sculpture and technology—exploring color, light and space—a harbinger of the future of painting. For more than 30 years, light has played a major part in Stephen’s work. He began his artistic career as a fine art photographer. His curiosity about the reflective and refractive qualities of light led to his working with ceramic glazes and mosaic tiles, and finally with works constructed of kiln-formed glass. “Glass allows me to manipulate and explore light and illusion, creating pure colors. I revel in their purity, their breathtaking richness—yet I am most drawn to the edges and the soft shadows that overlay a whisper of color and the borders that den u a ry
2011