Light and Space: Contemporary Continuations at Cannon Gallery

By Patricia Frischer

Adam Belt

William D. Cannon Gallery in Carlsbad presents the work of Adam Belt, Kaori Fukuyama, and Rebecca Webb who together filled the gallery from June 23 to August 25 with light and space. Chase Dougherty was the curator for this particular show, which is a contemporary take on a southern Californian theme from the 1960's. Our incredible light and open spaces even in urban setting was the inspiration for this movement and now we are getting a little local 2.0 version.

We just reported on  Adam Belt at Quint Gallery and are happy to see more of his work at the Cannon Gallery. The central space of the gallery is home to an overhead installation (see the image above) which filters the light into a magic square.  I might not have the patience or stamina to stand under this tent like structure for long, but I did a twirl and the light shifted as my body moved. I felt like  a child would want to lay down on a bean bag and stare upward as if star gazing.  These and the other work in the show are subtle along the lines of the artist James Turrell who said, "We eat light, drink it in through our skins."

Adam Belt

It takes time to be able to focus on the very slight floating rainbow edged affect of the light projected on this tiny glass bead covered canvas. It was only when I stood back a long ways that I was able to see the full circle of light. 

Adam Belt

Adam Belt

I was fascinated by the sculptures and installation by Kaori Fukuyama. I had seen previous examples of her paintings, but these 3-d works were actually magical. In some you could see the shadow they cast or the light they reflected more than you can see the actual materials they were made from. The eye is tricked but not necessarily intentionally which makes these works more authentic and less theatrical. Please take a look at the video because it is only by moving around this work, that it reveals itself. 

Kaori Fukuyama

Kaori Fukuyama - the darker lines are the shadow, the lighter ones the clear cubes that cast the shadows. 

Kaori Fukuyama

Kaori Fukuyama

Kaori Fukuyama

For Rebecca Webb leaving nature alone is just not enough .Her photos are rather like poetic interventions into landscapes. I apologize for the gallery reflections in this images. They are poor substitutes for the real thing. So go and see them in person...in fact all these works really need to be seen live so I hope this tempts you to catch them before like light and space, they disappear.  

Rebecca Webb

Rebecca Webb