Arriving on a metro bus and immersing myself within the public art scene, I attended “LUMINEX 2.0” to explore an award-winning art exhibition displayed in the South Park District of DTLA.
Produced by NOW Art Foundation and curated by Carmen Zella, this evening harnessed the power of augmented reality, live performances, drone activations, and soundscapes to showcase the intersection between artists’ perceived “realities” and their “projected” meanings.
12 installations were featured in a 5-block walking radius for audiences to traverse between monumental works of art, “scaled to the architecture of the urban facades.” These breathtaking displays conjured a hypnotic trance amongst viewers and exposed unsettling themes about how we experience our physical and digital lives. View a collection of clips captured from the evening below.
The artist line-up included Refik Anadol, Nancy Baker Cahill, Sarah Rara, Luciana Abait, Akiko Yamashita, Carole Kim, David Van Eyssen, Leah Smithson, Nate Mohler, Ryan P Griffin, Mark Hashimoto, and Elizabeth Leister.
“It’s been a personal goal to unlock a new wave of conceptual highly acclaimed artworks that can make their way into the sphere of the general public,” shared Carmen Zella, Founder & Chief Curator of NOW Art.
Additionally, a pop up gallery named “Frame of Mind, State of Time, Life Online” accompanied the Art Walk to allude to the craft and artistry behind established and emerging artists featured in the space. Curated and produced by MODA, this ancillary event also celebrated the power of art for bringing people together and forcing us to think deeply about the fabric of our identities. Featuring Nate Mohler, Chris Kim, Mpkoz, Gmunk, Cody Samson & Sophie Sturdevant, Anthony Samaniego, Goodboy William, Samuel J Masonic, Flume x Jonathan Zawada, Ryan Koopmans, and more.
Overall, a sense of connectedness and self-exploration permeated the space; substantiating Zella’s mission to elevate civic dialogue, cultural awareness and belief in The Healing Power of Public Art. Learn more about the organizations behind this spectacle at https://luminexla.com and see the post-exhibition sizzle reel here.
