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Art

Art

Leo Villareal: BUCKYBALL

Buckyball 6
Past Exhibition

Leo Villareal: BUCKYBALL

October 25, 2012 – February 25, 2013
Past Exhibition

Leo Villareal: BUCKYBALL

October 25, 2012 – February 25, 2013
Buckyball 6

Leo Villareal’s BUCKYBALL, inspired by the work of Buckminster Fuller, applies fundamental concepts of geometry to a thirty-foot-tall illuminated sculpture. BUCKYBALL includes two nested, geodesic sculptural spheres comprised of 180 LED tubes arranged in a series of pentagons and hexagons, known as a “Fullerene.” Pixels, located every 1.2 inches along the tubes, are each capable of displaying 16 million distinct colors and are programmed by the artist’s own software. Relying on LED technologies driven by chance, BUCKYBALL’S light sequences create exuberant, random compositions of varied speed, color, opacity, and scale. These configurations prompt the human impulse to identify patterns and gather meaning from our external environment. Villareal’s light sculpture is surrounded by zero-gravity couches that allow viewers to recline below the artwork. Villareal came of age as an artist when light-based works by Mary Corse, Dan Flavin, Robert Irwin and James Turrell were recognized and lauded. As well, he was a student during the first generation of home computers, inspiring his expertise in tech-based work.

  • About the artist
    Leo Villareal (American b. 1967) was born in Albuquerque and works in New York. He received a BA in sculpture from Yale University (1990), and an MA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Interactive Telecommunications Program (1994). 

    Villareal has received awards from City of London, Texas Cultural Trust, and San Jose Museum of Art. His many site-specific works include  Mulitverse (2008), National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; The Bay Lights (2013), San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge; and Illuminated River (2019), London. The artist’s works are included in the collections of Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; and Naoshima Contemporary Art Museum, Kagawa.

    Read more about the artist
  • About the artist
    Leo Villareal (American b. 1967) was born in Albuquerque and works in New York. He received a BA in sculpture from Yale University (1990), and an MA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Interactive Telecommunications Program (1994). 

    Villareal has received awards from City of London, Texas Cultural Trust, and San Jose Museum of Art. His many site-specific works include  Mulitverse (2008), National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; The Bay Lights (2013), San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge; and Illuminated River (2019), London. The artist’s works are included in the collections of Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; and Naoshima Contemporary Art Museum, Kagawa.

    Read more about the artist

Leo Villareal’s BUCKYBALL, inspired by the work of Buckminster Fuller, applies fundamental concepts of geometry to a thirty-foot-tall illuminated sculpture. BUCKYBALL includes two nested, geodesic sculptural spheres comprised of 180 LED tubes arranged in a series of pentagons and hexagons, known as a “Fullerene.” Pixels, located every 1.2 inches along the tubes, are each capable of displaying 16 million distinct colors and are programmed by the artist’s own software. Relying on LED technologies driven by chance, BUCKYBALL’S light sequences create exuberant, random compositions of varied speed, color, opacity, and scale. These configurations prompt the human impulse to identify patterns and gather meaning from our external environment. Villareal’s light sculpture is surrounded by zero-gravity couches that allow viewers to recline below the artwork. Villareal came of age as an artist when light-based works by Mary Corse, Dan Flavin, Robert Irwin and James Turrell were recognized and lauded. As well, he was a student during the first generation of home computers, inspiring his expertise in tech-based work.

  • About the artist
    Leo Villareal (American b. 1967) was born in Albuquerque and works in New York. He received a BA in sculpture from Yale University (1990), and an MA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Interactive Telecommunications Program (1994). 

    Villareal has received awards from City of London, Texas Cultural Trust, and San Jose Museum of Art. His many site-specific works include  Mulitverse (2008), National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; The Bay Lights (2013), San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge; and Illuminated River (2019), London. The artist’s works are included in the collections of Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; and Naoshima Contemporary Art Museum, Kagawa.

    Read more about the artist
  • Exhibition Catalogue
    Leo Villareal: BUCKYBALL
    Download PDF
  • Press Release
    Download PDF
  • About the artist
    Leo Villareal (American b. 1967) was born in Albuquerque and works in New York. He received a BA in sculpture from Yale University (1990), and an MA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Interactive Telecommunications Program (1994). 

    Villareal has received awards from City of London, Texas Cultural Trust, and San Jose Museum of Art. His many site-specific works include  Mulitverse (2008), National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; The Bay Lights (2013), San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge; and Illuminated River (2019), London. The artist’s works are included in the collections of Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; and Naoshima Contemporary Art Museum, Kagawa.

    Read more about the artist
Image gallery
Buckyball 7
Buckyball 1
Buckyball 6
Buckyball 5
Buckyball 4
Buckyball 3
Buckyball 2
Buckyball 7
Buckyball 1
Buckyball 6
Buckyball 5
Buckyball 4
Buckyball 3
Buckyball 2
Buckyball 7
Buckyball 1
Buckyball 6
Buckyball 5
Buckyball 4
Buckyball 3
Buckyball 2
Buckyball 7
Buckyball 1
Buckyball 6
Buckyball 5
Buckyball 4
Buckyball 3
Buckyball 2
Buckyball 7
Buckyball 1
Buckyball 6
Buckyball 5
Buckyball 4
Buckyball 3
Buckyball 2
Buckyball 7
Buckyball 1
Buckyball 6
Buckyball 5
Buckyball 4
Buckyball 3
Buckyball 2
Buckyball 7
Buckyball 1
Buckyball 6
Buckyball 5
Buckyball 4
Buckyball 3
Buckyball 2
Buckyball 7
Buckyball 1
Buckyball 6
Buckyball 5
Buckyball 4
Buckyball 3
Buckyball 2
Buckyball 7
Buckyball 1
Buckyball 6
Buckyball 5
Buckyball 4
Buckyball 3
Buckyball 2
Buckyball 7
Buckyball 1
Buckyball 6
Buckyball 5
Buckyball 4
Buckyball 3
Buckyball 2
Buckyball 7
Buckyball 1
Buckyball 6
Buckyball 5
Buckyball 4
Buckyball 3
Buckyball 2
Buckyball 7
Buckyball 1
Buckyball 6
Buckyball 5
Buckyball 4
Buckyball 3
Buckyball 2
  • Photo: James Ewing
  • Photo: James Ewing
  • Photo: James Ewing
  • Photo: James Ewing
  • Photo: James Ewing
  • Photo: James Ewing
  • Photo: James Ewing
Exhibition Support

Major support for the art program is provided by Liane Ginsberg, Agnes Gund, Toby Devan Lewis, Dorothy Lichtenstein, Tiffany & Co., Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Sorgente Group, and Anonymous. Substantial support is provided by Martha and Bruce Atwater, Melva Bucksbaum and Raymond Learsy, Henry Luce Foundation, Melissa S. Meyer, Ronald A. Pizzuti, The Rudin Family, Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch, Tishman Speyer, Joseph S. and Diane H. Steinberg Charitable Trust, and Sol LeWitt Fund for Artist Work. Additional support is provided by Tom Berger, Danny and Audrey Meyer, Jamie Welch and Fiona Angelini, Leslie and Howard Zemsky, NYC and Company, and Time Out New York. Major exhibition support for Buckyball is provided by Bloomberg.

 

Delta Air Lines is the Official Airline Sponsor of the art program. Ace Hotel New York is the Official Hotel Partner of the Madison Square Park Conservancy. Mad. Sq. Art is supported in part with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council. The Madison Square Park Conservancy is a public/private partnership with New York City Parks & Recreation.

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