With a backward glance or a forward glimpse, Kurt Lightner alludes to the stirring of human activity through a series of foundations fabricated from a mixture of materials. The four foundation walls loosely recall the earlier dwellings on the Glyndor site, suggesting that buildings are not static and changes may arise in the future. A strange fungus morphs on the stone and mirrored walls, seeming to appear and disappear from different angles. Grass, sprouting up in and around the foundations, is made from individual blades of painted mylar that are cut and layered to create a dense landscape. Lightner makes full use of the room, particularly the fireplace, creating an installation that is impossible to take in at first glance but reveals itself as the viewer experiences it from different vantage points. The spatial aspect of this project is a new direction for the artist who has been creating vibrant multi-layered collaged paintings. Undiscovered/Covered is also less autobiographical and more site-driven than his other projects.

Kurt Lightner’s first solo exhibition in New York was at Clementine Gallery, in 2004. Upcoming solo exhibitions are planned for the Clementine Gallery, and the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO, in February, 2006. His work was included in PS1/MoMA’s Greater New York this year, the Queens Museum of Art’s Queens International 2004. Other group shows include the Visual Arts Gallery, New York, NY; Lehman Maupin Gallery, New York, NY; Arthouse Jones Center for Contemporary Art, Austin, TX; and the Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, OH. He received the Reed Arts Award from the Ohio Art League, and the Paula Rhodes Memorial Award from the School of Visual Arts. Lightner earned his MFA from the School of Visual Arts, New York, NY, and his BFA from the Columbus College of Art and Design, Columbus, OH.

For more information visit www.clementine-gallery.com.

Undiscovered/Covered, 2005
mixed media
dimensions variable
Courtesy of the artist and Clementine Gallery, New York, NY
Installation in Glyndor Gallery, Wave Hill, 2005

Undiscovered/Covered, 2005
detail

Undiscovered/Covered, 2005
detail